Table 5. Effect of inoculated phosphate bacteria on plant growth and yield of wheat in microplots.
| Treatment | Number of Tillers (Tillers plant-1) |
Plant Height (cm) |
Root length (cm) |
Plant Biomass (Kg plot-1) |
Grain Yield (Kg plot-1) |
Plant Seed P content (%) |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winter Season 2016–17 | Pseudomonas sp. MS16 | 14.6±1.2 a | 99.73±2.69 a | 13.95±1.41 a | 1.38±0.14 a | 0.42±0.09 a | 3.49±0.12 a |
| Control 80% | 10.7±0.8 b | 98.40±2.55 a | 10.38±1.25 ab | 1.27±0.01 b | 0.35±0.01 b | 3.04±0.15 b | |
| Control 100% | 11.0±1.0 b | 99.00±2.65 a | 11.65±0.92 b | 1.30±0.03 ab | 0.40±0.07 a | 3.11±0.11 b | |
| Winter Season 2017–18 | Pseudomonas sp. MS16 | 13.3±0.52 a | 98.49±0.81 a | 13.96±0.55 a | 1.36±0.12 a | 0.53±0.03 a | 3.23±0.05 a |
| Control 80% | 10.3±0.57 c | 97.90±0.95 a | 12.40±1.11 a | 1.01±0.11 b | 0.42±0.04 b | 3.11±0.04 b | |
| Control 100% | 11.6±0.58 b | 97.39±0.87 a | 9.40±1.21 b | 1.11±0.10 ab | 0.43±0.02 b | 3.05±0.07 c |
Wheat plants were grown in microplots during crop season 2016–17 under net house conditions. Control 80% and Control 100% represents non-inoculated controls supplemented with 80% of the recommended dose of P fertilizer and recommended dose of P fertilizer, respectively. Pseudomonas sp. MS16 (1 x109 CFU mL-1) was seed-inoculated before sowing. Inoculated plots were supplemented with 80% of recommended dose of DAP fertilizer. Means are an average of three replicates arranged in RCBD. Means followed by the same letter differ non-significantly at p = 0.05 according to LSD. ± represents the standard deviations (SD). Each microplot has an area of 2.25 m2 and 54 plants plot-1 were grown.