Salt-Tolerant Compatible Microbial Inoculants Modulate Physio-Biochemical Responses Enhance Plant Growth, Zn Biofortification and Yield of Wheat Grown in Saline-Sodic Soil

Udai B. Singh, Deepti Malviya, Shailendra Singh, Prakash Singh, Abhijeet Ghatak, Muhammad Imran, Jai P. Rai, Rajiv K. Singh, Madhab C. Manna, Arun K. Sharma and Anil K. Saxena
Additional contact information
Udai B. Singh: Plant-Microbe Interaction and Rhizosphere Biology Lab, ICAR-National Bureau of Agriculturally Important Microorganisms, Kushmaur, Maunath Bhanjan 275103, India
Deepti Malviya: Plant-Microbe Interaction and Rhizosphere Biology Lab, ICAR-National Bureau of Agriculturally Important Microorganisms, Kushmaur, Maunath Bhanjan 275103, India
Shailendra Singh: Plant-Microbe Interaction and Rhizosphere Biology Lab, ICAR-National Bureau of Agriculturally Important Microorganisms, Kushmaur, Maunath Bhanjan 275103, India
Prakash Singh: Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, Veer Kunwar Singh College of Agriculture, Bihar Agricultural University, Dumraon, Buxar 802136, India
Abhijeet Ghatak: Department of Plant Pathology, Bihar Agricultural University, Sabour, Bhagalpur 813210, India
Muhammad Imran: Department of Biosciences, Faculty of Science, Integral University, Lucknow 226026, India
Jai P. Rai: Department of Mycology and Plant Pathology, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221005, India
Rajiv K. Singh: ICAR-Indian Institute of Seed Sciences, Kushmaur, Maunath Bhanjan 275103, India
Madhab C. Manna: Soil Biology Division, ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil Science, Bhopal 462038, India
Arun K. Sharma: Plant-Microbe Interaction and Rhizosphere Biology Lab, ICAR-National Bureau of Agriculturally Important Microorganisms, Kushmaur, Maunath Bhanjan 275103, India
Anil K. Saxena: Plant-Microbe Interaction and Rhizosphere Biology Lab, ICAR-National Bureau of Agriculturally Important Microorganisms, Kushmaur, Maunath Bhanjan 275103, India

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 18, 1-25

Abstract: A wide range of root-associated mutualistic microorganisms have been successfully applied and documented in the past for growth promotion, biofertilization, biofortification and biotic and abiotic stress amelioration in major crops. These microorganisms include nitrogen fixers, nutrient mobilizers, bio-remediators and bio-control agents. The present study aimed to demonstrate the impact of salt-tolerant compatible microbial inoculants on plant growth; Zn biofortification and yield of wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) crops grown in saline-sodic soil and insight of the mechanisms involved therein are being shared through this paper. Field experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of Trichoderma harzianum UBSTH-501 and Bacillus amyloliquefaciens B-16 on wheat grown in saline-sodic soil at Research Farm, ICAR-Indian Institute of Seed Sciences, Kushmaur, India. The population of rhizosphere-associated microorganisms changed dramatically upon inoculation of the test microbes in the wheat rhizosphere. The co-inoculation induced a significant accumulation of proline and total soluble sugar in wheat at 30, 60, 90 and 120 days after sowing as compared to the uninoculated control. Upon quantitative estimation of organic solutes and antioxidant enzymes, these were found to have increased significantly in co-inoculated plants under salt-stressed conditions. The application of microbial inoculants enhanced the salt tolerance level significantly in wheat plants grown in saline-sodic soil. A significant increase in the uptake and translocation of potassium (K + ) and calcium (Ca 2+ ) was observed in wheat co-inoculated with the microbial inoculants, while a significant reduction in sodium (Na + ) content was recorded in plants treated with both the bio-agents when compared with the respective uninoculated control plants. Results clearly indicated that significantly higher expression of TaHKT-1 and TaNHX1 in the roots enhances salt tolerance effectively by maintaining the Na + /K + balance in the plant tissue. It was also observed that co-inoculation of the test inoculants increased the expression of ZIP transporters (2–3.5-folds) which ultimately led to increased biofortification of Zn in wheat grown in saline-sodic soil. Results suggested that co-inoculation of T. harzianum UBSTH-501 and B. amyloliquefaciens B-16 not only increased plant growth but also improved total grain yield along with a reduction in seedling mortality in the early stages of crop growth. In general, the present investigation demonstrated the feasibility of using salt-tolerant rhizosphere microbes for plant growth promotion and provides insights into plant-microbe interactions to ameliorate salt stress and increase Zn bio-fortification in wheat.

Keywords: Trichoderma harzianum; Bacillus amyloliquefaciens; antioxidant; ZIP transporters; Zn bio-fortification; wheat; saline-sodic soil (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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