Response of Faba Bean (Vicia faba L.) to Inoculation with Plant Growth-Promoting Rhizobacteria

Abd El-Azeem, Samy; Mehana, Taha; Shabayek, Ahmed

Response of Faba Bean (Vicia faba L.) to Inoculation with Plant Growth-Promoting Rhizobacteria

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Soil and Water Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Suez Canal University, 41522 Ismailia, Egypt

Abstract

In the greenhouse, pot experiment was carried out to evaluate the response of faba bean (Vicia faba var.
Giza 429) to inoculation with 56 strains of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR). The used
PGPR strains were isolated from the rhizospheric soils of different field-grown crops in Suez Canal
region. The results showed that growth and yield of faba bean were stimulated by application of PGPR.
Average increases of biomass over the uninoculated control were 105.2, 31.9 and 56.8% for straw, seeds
and total yields, respectively. With 54 of the tested PGPR strains, an increase in the number of nodules
formed on the faba bean roots by indigenous rhizobia was observed. These increases were significant for
22 strains, ranging from 46.7% with Micrococcus luteus TK1 and Xanthobacter autotrophicus AM2 to
121.7% with Azospirillum brasilense AC1. All the tested isolates increased nodule dry weight, but only
23 isolates caused significant increase over the control ranging from 35.3% with Azospirillum brasilense
GO1 to 84.4% with Serratia liquefaciens GO2. The present study clearly showed that the tested PGPR
might have highly beneficial effects on growth and yield of faba bean under greenhouse conditions. Field
evaluation under different soils and environmental conditions should be undertaken before
generalizations of these PGPR for agricultural application.

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