Inoculation of plant growth-promoting bacteria attenuates the negative effects of drought on sorghum.

Inoculation of plant growth-promoting bacteria attenuates the negative effects of drought on sorghum. Arch Microbiol. 2020 Jan 13;: Authors: Santana SRA, Voltolini TV, Antunes GDR, da Silva VM, Simões WL, Morgante CV, de Freitas ADS, Chaves ARM, Aidar ST, Fernandes-Júnior PI Abstract Microbial inoculants are suitable cost-effective technology to help plants endure drought. For the development of commercial inoculants, screening of efficient plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) is a crucial step. The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of PGPB to modulate drought resistance in Sorghum bicolor. A pot experiment with sorghum was conducted to access the role of previously selected PGPB strains. In addition, two non-inoculated control treatments (with and without urea fertilization) were also evaluated. For comparison, a fully irrigated treatment (FIT) was also assessed. All plants were fully irrigated for 47 days when the water supply was completely suspended for the drought-stressed treatments. When the soil moisture was close to zero, the irrigation was resumed. During dehydration and rehydration process, the leaf gas exchange (LGE) was evaluated. The parameters of plant growth and nitrogen nutrition were assessed 8 days after reirrigation. Comparing to the FIT, all treatments reduced the LGE rates, but in the presence of Bacillus sp. ESA 402 photosynthesis rate was less reduced. Some inoculation treatments promoted ...
Source: Archives of Microbiology - Category: Microbiology Authors: Tags: Arch Microbiol Source Type: research