Sustainable Management with Mycorrhizae and Phosphate Solubilizing Bacteria for Enhanced Phosphorus Uptake in Calcareous Soils

Fazli Wahid, Shah Fahad, Subhan Danish, Muhammad Adnan, Zhen Yue, Shah Saud, Manzer H. Siddiqui, Martin Brtnicky, Tereza Hammerschmiedt and Rahul Datta
Additional contact information
Fazli Wahid: Department of Agriculture, The University of Swabi, Swabi 23561, Pakistan
Shah Fahad: Department of Agronomy, The University of Haripur, Haripur 22620, Pakistan
Subhan Danish: Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan 60000, Punjab, Pakistan
Muhammad Adnan: Department of Agriculture, The University of Swabi, Swabi 23561, Pakistan
Zhen Yue: College of Life Science, Liniyi University, Liniyi 276000, China
Shah Saud: Department of Horticulture, Northeast Agriculture University, Harbin 150030, China
Manzer H. Siddiqui: Department of Botany and Microbiology, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 2455, Saudi Arabia
Martin Brtnicky: Department of Agrochemistry, Soil Science, Microbiology and Plant Nutrition, Faculty of AgriSciences, Mendel 13 University in Brno, 61300 Brno, Czech Republic
Tereza Hammerschmiedt: Department of Agrochemistry, Soil Science, Microbiology and Plant Nutrition, Faculty of AgriSciences, Mendel 13 University in Brno, 61300 Brno, Czech Republic
Rahul Datta: Department of Agrochemistry, Soil Science, Microbiology and Plant Nutrition, Faculty of AgriSciences, Mendel 13 University in Brno, 61300 Brno, Czech Republic

Agriculture, 2020, vol. 10, issue 8, 1-14

Abstract: Low availability of phosphorus (P) in calcareous soils is a major problem for sustainable improvement in cereals crops yield. A higher amount of calcium in soils precipitates the P, thus making it immobile in soil. Inoculation of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and phosphate solubilizing bacteria (PSB) could be helpful in the sustainable management of immobile P in soil. However, their combined use in releasing P from rock phosphate (RP) in alkaline calcareous soils have been little investigated. In this regard, two successive field experiments were conducted to assess the interactive inoculation potential of AMF and PSB strain Bacillus sp. PIS7 with RP on the yield and P uptake of maize ( Zea mays L.) and wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) crops in alkaline calcareous soil. The first field experiment was conducted in a complete randomized block design with 10 treatments and three replications by inoculating maize seeds with AMF and Bacillus sp. PIS7 inoculum alone and in combination with RP. Their performance was compared with single super phosphate (SSP) inorganic fertilizer. Afterward, the residual effects of inoculated AMF and Bacillus sp. PIS7 were investigated on wheat as a subsequent crop. Maize and wheat yield parameters, P uptake, AMF root colonization, and PSB population was measured. The results of both trials indicated the beneficial effects of AMF and Bacillus sp. PIS7 with RP in increasing the plants grain yield and P uptake until the second season after inoculation, as compared to controls. Likewise, maize and wheat roots colonization, PSB population density, and post-harvest soil properties were also improved by the combined inoculation of AMF and Bacillus sp. PIS7 with RP. It is concluded that PSB solubilizes the unavailable forms of P in combination with RP fertilizers in soil, and AMF ultimately transfers it to plants for growth promotion. Moreover, the combined inoculation of AMF and PSB with ground RP had more potential to improve maize-wheat yields and P uptake comparable to those obtained by using expensive phosphatic fertilizers in P deficient calcareous pH soils.

Keywords: maize; mycorrhizae; plant nutrients; rhizobacteria; rock phosphate; wheat; Zea mays L. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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