COMPOSITE APPLICATION OF BIOCHAR AND PLANT GROWTH PROMOTING BACTERIA ON VIGOR OF MAIZE SEED UNDER SALT STRESS

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.