The Pharma Innovation Journal 2022; 11(8): 490-495
ISSN (E): 2277-7695
ISSN (P): 2349-8242
NAAS Rating: 5.23 Relative impact of PGPR inoculation on biofortification
TPI 2022; 11(8): 490-495
© 2022 TPI and yield of wheat under field conditions and their
www.thepharmajournal.com
Received: 16-05-2022 performance assessment through statistical tools
Accepted: 29-07-2022
Amir Khan Amir Khan, Ajay Veer Singh, Rajeew Kumar, Bharti Kukreti, Vindhaya
Department of Microbiology,
College of Basic Sciences and Bundela and Viabhav Kumar Upadhayay
Humanities, Govind Ballabh
Pant University of Agriculture Abstract
and Technology, Pantnagar U.S. The production of quality food in an environment-friendly way from diminishing land and water
Nagar, Uttarakhand, India
resources is a formidable challenge of this century. Besides quality, agricultural production needs to be
Ajay Veer Singh
increased significantly on a sustainable basis to meet the continuously increasing food demand of
Department of Microbiology, mushrooming human population. Wheat is a cereal crop that provides plenty of nutrition. In this era,
College of Basic Sciences and people are avoiding chemical fertilizers and replacing them with beneficial microorganisms that are now
Humanities, Govind Ballabh widely adopted for intensive agriculture in many parts of the world, which can stimulate the growth of
Pant University of Agriculture their associated host through increased mobility, uptake and enrichment of nutrients in the plants. Thus,
and Technology, Pantnagar U.S. the present investigation was performed in search of potential plant growth promoting rhizobacteria to
Nagar, Uttarakhand, India enhance the growth and productivity of wheat. Three bacterial isolates were screened during the study for
plant growth promotary traits, including zinc and phosphate solubilization, IAA, ammonia and HCN
Rajeew Kumar production. Afterward, a field trial was conducted with wheat. The results demonstrated that among all
Department of Agronomy, bacterial isolates, PAWR 28 and HRM29 performed superior as they improved plant height, grain yield,
College of Agriculture, Govind biological yield, percent harvest index and grains zinc and iron content. The correlation coefficient,
Ballabh Pant University of cluster and principal component analysis demonstrated that the performance of PAWR 28 and HRM29
Agriculture and Technology,
bacterial isolates were remarkable and positively enhanced agronomical parameters, zinc and iron
Pantnagar, U.S. Nagar,
Uttarakhand, India
biofortification in grains. The results of the present investigation proved the potential of bacterial isolate
PAWR 28 and HRM29 under field conditions and might be utilized as a biofertilizer to enhance wheat
Bharti Kukreti productivity and nutrition.
Department of Microbiology,
College of Basic Sciences and Keywords: Agriculture, biofortification, crop yield, food security, PGPR, wheat
Humanities, Govind Ballabh
Pant University of Agriculture Introduction
and Technology, Pantnagar U.S.
Cereals are referred as staple food in the world and are nonlegume in nature. Globally, around
Nagar, Uttarakhand, India
734.32 million ha are used to cultivate cereals, with a production of around 2980.2 million
Vindhaya Bundela tonnes (FAOSTAT, 2019) [9]. In India, cereal crops are grown in an area of 99.28 million ha,
Department of Microbiology, with an annual production of 245.49 million tonnes and a productivity of 2.47 t/ha (GOI,
College of Basic Sciences and 2019) [12] of cereals (2.47 t/ha) is almost 40% lower than the
Humanities, Govind Ballabh
average cereals (4.11 t/ha). Wheat is the second most crucial staple food crop in the world,
Pant University of Agriculture
and Technology, Pantnagar U.S. which meets most of the food requirements of the people. Further the quest for quality food
Nagar, Uttarakhand, India has risen from the
be 9.8 billion by the end of 2050 (Kaneda et al. 2015) [13]. Additionally, in the year 2017/2018,
Viabhav Kumar Upadhayay wheat export exceeded 761.7 million tonnes (FAO, 2020) [8]. Hence, one must adopt precise
Department of Microbiology,
and balanced nutrition improving practices for higher productivity of cereals because good
College of Basic Sciences and
Humanities, Dr. Rajendra nutrition is the key to good health (Upadhayay et al. 2022a) [34]. Regardless of a record
Prasad Central Agriculture increase in agricultural productivity during the twentieth century, the world faces insecurity in
University, Pusa, Samastipur, global food security. Chemical fertilizers are commonly used to supply essential nutrients to
Bihar, India soil-plant systems in various cultivated crops. However, using high amounts of chemical
fertilizers, especially nitrogen, has raised environmental concerns in the current agricultural
Corresponding Author: systems. There is a need to find safe, alternative fertilization strategies to improve agro-
Ajay Veer Singh ecosystems' sustainability, especially in cereal cultivation. One potential method is the
Department of Microbiology, application of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR). PGPR are free-living soil
College of Basic Sciences and microorganisms that inhabit the rhizosphere of plant roots and improves plant growth and
Humanities, Govind Ballabh
development. These microbes are indigenous to soil and plant rhizosphere and have proved to
Pant University of Agriculture
and Technology, Pantnagar U.S. be potential tools for sustainable and productive agriculture.
Nagar, Uttarakhand, India
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