Seed inoculation with Bacillus spp. improves seedling vigour in oil-seed plant Jatropha curcas L

Jatropha (Jatropha curcas L.) is a non-edible oil-seed plant with adaptability to marginal semi-arid lands and wastelands. The Indian Government is promoting jatropha to reduce dependence on the crude oil and to achieve energy independence by the year 2012, under the National Biodiesel Mission. Sele...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Biology and fertility of soils 2007-10, Vol.44 (1), p.229-234
Main Authors: Desai, S, Narayanaiah, Ch, Kumari, Ch. Kranti, Reddy, M. S, Gnanamanickam, S. S, Rao, G. Rajeswara, Venkateswarlu, B
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adaptability
Arid zones
Bacillus
Bacillus polymyxa
Bacillus pumilus
Bacillus spp
Chitin
Chlorophyll
Crude oil
Jatropha
Jatropha curcas
Plant growth
Plant growth promotion
Rhizobiales
seed inoculation
Seedlings
Seeds
Semiarid lands
Soil fertility
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Summary:Jatropha (Jatropha curcas L.) is a non-edible oil-seed plant with adaptability to marginal semi-arid lands and wastelands. The Indian Government is promoting jatropha to reduce dependence on the crude oil and to achieve energy independence by the year 2012, under the National Biodiesel Mission. Selected strains of Bacillus spp., either supplemented with or without chitin, were tested for their ability to promote growth of jatropha seedlings in pot culture studies. The strains supported growth of jatropha seedlings up to 42 days after sowing. Among all strains, Bacillus pumilus (IM-3) supplemented with chitin showed over all plant growth promotion effect resulting in enhanced shoot length (113%), dry shoot mass (360%), dry root mass (467%), dry total plant mass (346%), leaf area (256%), and chlorophyll content (74%) over control. Treating seeds with strain IM-3 without chitin resulted in enhanced dry shoot mass (473%), dry total plant mass (407%), and chlorophyll content (82%). However, Bacillus polymyxa (KRU-22) with chitin supported maximum root length (143%). Either strain IM-3 alone or in combination with other promising strains could be promoted further for enhanced initial seedling growth of jatropha.
ISSN:0178-2762
1432-0789
DOI:10.1007/s00374-007-0209-7