Affiliations 

  • 1 Department of Horticulture, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Pakistan
  • 2 Department of Botany and Plant Physiology, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
  • 3 Institute of Plant Breeding and Biotechnology, MNS University of Agriculture Multan, Multan, Pakistan
  • 4 Plant Production Department (Horticulture-Medicinal and Aromatic Plants), Faculty of Agriculture (Saba Basha), Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt
  • 5 Department of Biotechnology, College of Science, Taif University, Taif, Saudi Arabia
  • 6 Biology Department, College of Science, Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University (IMSIU), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
  • 7 Department of Land Management, Faculty of Agriculture, Universiti Putra Malaysia, UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
PLoS One, 2021;16(12):e0261468.
PMID: 34919599 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0261468

Abstract

Nitrogen (N) is a macronutrient desired by crop plants in large quantities. However, hiking fertilizer prices need alternative N sources for reducing its requirements through appropriate management practices. Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) are well-known for their role in lowering N requirements of crop plants. This study assessed the impact of PGPR inoculation on growth, allometry and biochemical traits of chili under different N doses. Two PGPR, i.e., Azospirillum 'Er-20' (nitrogen fixing) and Agrobacterium 'Ca-18' (phosphorous solubilizing) were used for inoculation, while control treatment had no PGPR inoculation. Six N doses, i.e., 100, 80, 75, 70, 60 and 50% of the N required by chili were included in the study. Data relating to growth traits, biochemical attributes and yield related traits were recorded. Interaction among N doses and PGPR inoculation significantly altered all growth traits, biochemical attributes and yield related traits. The highest values of the recorded traits were observed for 100% N with and without PGPR inoculation and 75% N with PGPR inoculation. The lowest values of the recorded traits were noted for 50% N without PGPR inoculation. The PGPR inoculation improved the measured traits compared to the traits recorded noted in same N dose without PGPR inoculation. Results revealed that PGPR had the potential to lower 25% N requirement for chili. Therefore, it is recommended that PGPR must be used in chili cultivation to lower N requirements.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.