Effects on the yield and fiber quality components of Bt cotton inoculated with Azotobacter chroococcum under elevated CO2

• Published in: PeerJ (San Francisco, CA) CA), 2023-08, Vol.11, p.e15811-e15811
• Main Authors: Li, Zhuo, Gao, Min, Liu, Rujie, Chang, Chunyan, Ge, Feng
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Agricultural Science; Azotobacter chroococcum; Bt cotton; Climate Change Biology; Elevated CO2; Fiber quality; Microbiology; Plant Science; Soil Science; Yield
• ISSN: 2167-8359
• DOI: 10.7717/peerj.15811

BackgroundThe raising trend of cultivation of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt)-transgenic cotton is faced with a new challenge what effects on the growth and yield of Bt cotton under elevated CO2. MethodsRhizobacteria is the significant biological regulator to increase environmental suitability and ameliorate soil-nitrogen utilization efficiency of crops, especially Bt cotton. Pot-culture experiments investigated the effects on the yield and fiber quality components of Bt cotton (transgenic Line SCRC 37) inoculated with Azotobacter chroococcum (AC) under elevated CO2. ResultsThe findings indicated that the inoculation of azotobacter significantly improved the yield and fiber quality components of Bt cotton, the elevated CO2 significantly increased the soil density of A. chroococcum and the partial yield indexes (as cottonweightper 20 bolls, lint yield per 20 bolls and boll number per plant), and non-significant decrease the fiber quality components of Bt cotton except uniform. DiscussionOverall results obviously depicted that the inoculation of azotobacter and the elevated CO2 had positive effects on the yield and fiber quality components of Bt cotton. Presumably, azotobacter inoculation can be used to stimulate plant soil-nitrogen uptake and promote plant growth for Bt cotton under elevated CO2 in the future.