Abstract:
The objective of this study was to learn the effect of halotolerant bacteria on the
maize (Zea mays L.) seed growth under the saline stress and to evaluate the role of biochar
as an inoculant carrier. The seeds coated with biochar and 3 different strains of
halotolerant PGPR were grown under controlled conditions i.e., three different
temperatures 20°C, 30°C, 40°C and four different salt concentrations 25ppm, 50ppm,
100ppm, and 200ppm. Parameters such as seedling length (SL), germination percentage
(GP), seed vigor index (SVI) and moisture content (MC) were opted to analyze the effect
of the treatments. The results indicated that the interactive effect of biochar and PGPR on
the vigor of seed under saline stress was significant. However, sole application of PGPR
did not show a very significant performance in comparison to the biochar. The results
suggest that the application of inoculated biochar with halotolerant bacterial strains can
be an effective approach for sustainable crop production on saline land.
