Nut Boost: A formulation of Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria as biofertilizer for enhancing groundnut yield
The consortium of Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPRs) comprising of Pseudomonas gessardii BHU1 (PGPR1), Pseudomonas putida S1(6) (PGPR2) and Pseudomonas putida BM6 (PGPR4), was originally isolated at Junagadh from groundnut rhizosphere. These microorganisms are having multiple plant-growth promoting attributes like ACC deaminase (an indicator of plant growth promotion), phosphate solubilization, production of siderophore, antifungal metabolites, hormones, and ammonification traits. Besides, these PGPR isolates also exhibited solubilization of Zn and potassium (K) and exhibited antifungal activities against major soil-borne fungal pathogens like Sclerotium rolfsii and Aspergillus niger. Subsequently, application of these organisms has been found to enhance growth, yield, and nutrient uptake in groundnut at Junagadh, in farmers’ fields, at multilocation in India, tested through AICRP(G) centres for three years and demonstration through FLDs with yield advantage of 16.5 to 18.1 % over the un-inoculated control. These PGPR isolates have been recommended for irrigated and rainfed groundnut cultivation in India on the basis of the performance.