KAUSHAL, RAJESHKIRTI, SHURTI2016-11-152016-11-152013http://krishikosh.egranth.ac.in/handle/1/85699ABSTRACT The adverse effects of synthetic inputs in modern agriculture have promoted the concept of organic agriculture, which relies on organic inputs and use of beneficial microorganisms. Therefore the present investigation were undertaken to isolate and characterize rhizospheric and endophytic bacteria as well as AM fungi associated with sweet cherry from various locations in Shimla district of Himachal Pradesh. A total of twenty bacterial isolates were isolated and screened for multifarious PGP traits like Psolubilization, siderophore, IAA, HCN production, nitrogen fixation and antagonistic activity against Rhizoctonia solani, Fusarium oxysporum, and Pythium aphanidermatum. On the basis of efficacy towards plant growth promoting traits and antagonism against soil borne pathogens two bacterial isolates RT2 and RK1 selected which solubilizes 160.33 and 112.67 µg/ml of insoluble phosphorous, 69.32 and 50.70 µg/ml of auxin, 175.84 and 138.24% of siderophore, respectively. RT2 isolates exhibits antagonism against Rhizoctonia solani (33.43%) Fusarium oxysporum (38.18%) and Pythium aphanidermatum (41.89%). On the basis of morphology, physiology and biochemical test both the isolates were tentatively identified as Bacillus spp. The AMF spore population varied from 150.00 to 336.67 spores/50 g of soil and the per cent root colonization ranged from 19.22 to 29.33% under natural conditions. Isolated eight species of AM fungi belong to four genera viz., Glomus, Acaulospora, Gigaspora, Scutellospora with maximum frequency of occurrence was for Glomus genus. Multiplication of AM fungal spores were carried out in sterilized Sand: Soil: FYM (1:1:1) mixture with guinea grass. The root colonization of guinea grass was 13.6 per cent with spore count of 383.33 spores/50 g of soil after six months of multiplicationenorganic agriculture,synthetic inputsThesis