Title
Alfalfa growth promotion by bacteria grown under iron limiting conditions
Publication Date
7-22-2002
Publication Name
Advances in Environmental Research
Document Type
Article
Abstract
This investigation has been conducted to compare and contrast the impact of 18 potentially plant growth-promoting bacterial strains, cultured in rich and iron-deficient minimal media, on alfalfa seed germination and seedling vigor. Our results showed that seed germination was improved by all of the bacterial strains grown in iron-deficient minimal medium. We also found that all the seeds inoculated with the bacterial strains grown in iron-deficient minimal medium produced seedlings with larger roots (55-66 mm) than the roots of uninoculated control plants (54.9 mm). Furthermore, most of the strains cultivated in iron-deficient minimal medium generated seedlings with larger roots than those seeds inoculated with microbial cells grown in iron-rich medium (37-59 mm). Overall, seeds inoculated with the strain U cultivated in iron-deficient minimal medium gave rise to plantlets with the greatest length (81 mm). On the other hand, seeds inoculated with bacterial cells grown under iron-rich media show significantly higher stem and root dry weight, which is an indication of the influence of the growth conditions on the plant growth-promoting ability of these microorganisms. © 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Volume
6
Issue
3
First Page
391
Last Page
399
DOI
10.1016/S1093-0191(02)00054-0