Combined microbial inoculation improves plant growth, nutrient acquisition, and soil biological functioning in Opuntia ficus-indica under water deficit
Aug 2026· 3 Biotech· Vol 16· 0 citations· 117 references
Medicine
TL;DR
It is demonstrated that combined PGPR and AMF inoculation represents an effective and sustainable strategy to enhance soil biological functioning, nutrient cycling, and drought tolerance of O. ficus-indica in water limited environments.
Tomato production requires adequate nutrient availability to sustain high yield and biomass production, while efficient nutrient acquisition remains important under reduced fertilizer inputs. The integration of AMF and PGPR offers a potential biological approach to improve nutrient acquisition and plant productivity. A field experiment was conducted during Rabi season of 2023-24 and 2024-25 at the Research Farm of the Vegetable Research Centre, Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Krishi Vidyapeeth, Parbhani, Maharashtra, India to evaluate the effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) on tomato yield, dry matter production, nutrient concentration and nutrient uptake under different fertilizer levels and methods of microbial application. The experiment comprised twelve treatments arranged in a randomized block design with three replications. Application of 75% RDF + AMF + Pseudomonas fluorescens + Bacillus megaterium + Trichoderma viride through soil application (T₁₂) consistently recorded the highest yield and nutrient accumulation. Pooled analysis showed that T₁₂ produced the maximum fruit yield (376.74 q ha⁻¹) and dry matter yield (46.34 q ha⁻¹). The treatment also recorded the highest N (1.97%), P (0.30%) and K (1.99%) concentrations, with corresponding N, P and K uptake of 91.43, 13.83 and 92.53 kg ha⁻¹, respectively. Compared with 100% RDF, T₁₂ increased fruit yield by 27.27%, demonstrating that the microbial consortium effectively complemented a 25% reduction in mineral fertilizer application. Soil application generally resulted in greater responses than seedling application, indicating more effective establishment and activity of the microbial inoculants in the rhizosphere. The integration of AMF and PGPR with 75% RDF can improve tomato productivity, biomass production and N, P and K accumulation while reducing mineral fertilizer input by 25% under Vertisol conditions.
Nikita D. Pardeshi, R. Khandare, M. N. Ingole et al.· Journal of Scientific Resear...· 0 citations
Pre-sprouted sugarcane seedlings are increasingly used to ensure uniform crop establishment; however, their performance is highly constrained by water deficit under climate change scenarios. This research evaluated whether a consortium of
Bacillus licheniformis
(FMCH001) and
Bacillus subtilis
(FMCH002) could mitigate drought stress by improving root development, soil microbial activity, and plant nutritional and physiological responses under different water regimes.
The experiment was conducted in a randomized block design using a 4 × 2 factorial scheme, with four water regimes (20, 40, 60, and 80% of field capacity) and two inoculation treatments (with and without bacteria), with four replicates.
Bacillus
inoculation alleviated the adverse effects of water deficit, particularly under severe water restriction (20, 40, and 60% of field capacity), by increasing root length, surface area, volume, and diameter. Inoculated treatments showed higher arylsulfatase, β-glucosidase, acid phosphatase, and urease activities, indicating enhanced soil microbial functioning. These responses were associated with increased leaf concentrations of N, P, K, Ca, Fe, and Zn. Furthermore, inoculated plants exhibited improved photosynthetic performance, including higher PSII efficiency, electron transport rate, net CO
2
assimilation, water use efficiency, and carboxylation efficiency, contributing to better establishment and development throughout the sugarcane growth cycle.
Inoculation with
Bacillus subtilis
and
Bacillus licheniformis
mitigated the effects of water deficit in pre-sprouted sugarcane seedlings by promoting root development, enhancing soil microbial activity, and increasing nutrient acquisition, thereby improving plant mineral nutrition and photosynthetic performance.
Carlos Henrique de Castro Nogueira, Hariane Luiz Santos, L. de Sousa Ferreira et al.· Plant and Soil· 0 citations
Beneficial soil microorganisms offer a promising approach for enhancing soil fertility and nutrient availability while improving crop productivity and reducing dependence on mineral fertilisers. A field experiment was conducted during the Rabi season of 2023–24 at the Research Farm of the Vegetable Research Centre, Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Krishi Vidyapeeth, Parbhani, Maharashtra, India, to evaluate the effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) on tomato productivity and soil nutrient availability under Vertisol conditions. Twelve treatments comprising 75% of the recommended dose of fertilisers (RDF) in combination with individual or combined microbial inoculants, applied either as a seedling treatment or through soil application, were evaluated in a randomised block design with three replications. The treatment comprising 75% RDF + AMF + Pseudomonas fluorescens + Bacillus megaterium + Trichoderma viride applied through soil application (T₁₂) recorded the highest fruit yield (371.53 q ha⁻¹) and dry matter yield (46.09 q ha⁻¹), representing increases of 25.88 and 37.91% over 100% RDF, respectively. At 95 days after transplanting, T₁₂ also maintained the highest soil available N (204.20 kg ha⁻¹), P (24.90 kg ha⁻¹) and K (798.15 kg ha⁻¹), corresponding to increases of 23.36, 37.49 and 14.73%, respectively, over 100% RDF. The corresponding increases over the absolute control were 46.01, 82.95 and 31.74%. The combined soil-applied consortium consistently produced greater yield and soil nutrient availability than the corresponding seedling application, although the two application methods were statistically comparable for several attributes. Among individual microbial treatments, soil application of AMF was the most effective. The findings demonstrate that AMF–PGPR integration with 75% RDF can improve tomato productivity and maintain higher soil nutrient availability while reducing mineral fertiliser input by 25% under Vertisol conditions.
Nikita D. Pardeshi, R. Khandare, P. Nakhate et al.· Journal of Advances in Biolo...· 0 citations
Microbial inoculation has been unequivocally established as an effective strategy for promoting plant growth and enhancing salinity tolerance. The objective of this work was to examine the influence of AMF (Funneliformis mosseae) inoculation, whether applied singly or together with PGPR (Bacillus mycoides and Sinorhizobium meliloti), on osmotic balance, ionic homeostasis, soil nutrient status, and enzyme activities in salt-stressed alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.). The results showed that salt stress significantly inhibited soil enzyme activities, reduced soil nutrient contents, and significantly increased the contents of osmolytes and Na+ in both leaves and roots of alfalfa. Additionally, the accumulation of Na+ in roots and leaves exhibited a significant negative correlation with soil nutrient contents (NH4+-N, NO3−-N, available phosphorus and available potassium) as well as with soil enzyme activities (sucrase and alkaline phosphatase). However, microbial inoculation significantly alleviated these adverse effects, mainly by increasing osmotic adjustment substances (e.g., proline), enhancing soil enzyme activities (e.g., urease), improving soil nutrient contents (e.g., soil organic matter), and promoting the uptake of K+ and Ca2+, thereby raising the K+/Na+ and Ca2+/Na+ ratios. Comprehensive analysis revealed that the co-inoculation treatments were superior to the single inoculations, with T7 (AMF + Rhizobium) exhibiting the best performance. This study provides a theoretical reference for the application of microbial inoculants to improve alfalfa performance under saline–alkali conditions.
Wenbo Xu, Hong-You Li, Tuo Yao· Agronomy· 0 citations
A controlled greenhouse study was conducted during the 2020/2021 dry season at the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria (CRIN), Ibadan, Nigeria, to evaluate the effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) inoculation and soil moisture on nutrient acquisition and physiological performance of three cashew (Anacardium occidentale L.) biotypes. The experiment was arranged as a 3 × 3 × 2 factorial in a completely randomized design, comprising three biotypes (Jumbo, Medium and Madras), three soil moisture levels (40%, 60% and 80% field capacity), and two AMF treatments (inoculated and non-inoculated), with three replications. AMF inoculation significantly improved foliar nutrient concentration and nutrient uptake of N, P, K, Ca and Mg, although the magnitude of response varied with biotype and moisture regime. The highest nutrient uptake and foliar nutrient concentrations generally occurred in AMF-inoculated Jumbo seedlings at 80% field capacity. AMF inoculation also improved chlorophyll content, relative water content and stomatal conductance, with the highest physiological values recorded under 80% field capacity. Jumbo generally showed the strongest response, whereas Madras recorded comparatively lower values. The findings demonstrate the potential of AMF inoculation to improve nutrient acquisition and physiological performance of cashew seedlings under varying soil moisture conditions, with the response depending on the cashew biotype and moisture regime.
O. Akanbi, I. Oyewusi, F. Asowata et al.· International Journal of Pla...· 0 citations
Reliable evaluation of rhizobial inoculant performance requires integrative assessment of nodulation and biomass responses under contrasting soil microbial environments. A controlled pot experiment was conducted to evaluate cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp.) responses to inoculation with Sinorhizobium fredii, Bradyrhizobium japonicum, mineral nitrogen (urea), and a non-inoculated control under heat-treated and unsterilized sandy loam soils. Treatments were arranged in a completely randomised design with three replicates and monitored up to 10 weeks after planting (WAP). Nodulation, vegetative growth, shoot biomass, and root biomass were assessed at 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 WAP. Integrative indices, including nodulation biomass efficiency ratio (NBER), biomass allocation ratio (BAR), and symbiotic advantage index (SAI), were calculated at 10 WAP, and Pearson correlation analysis was performed. Nodulation differed significantly among treatments under both soil conditions (P ≤ 0.001). In heat-treated soil, S. fredii produced 45.33 nodules plant−1 compared with 27.00 nodules plant−1 under B. japonicum, while non-inoculated plants showed limited nodulation (5.00 nodules plant−1), indicating residual indigenous rhizobial influence. Under unsterilized soil, nodulation increased to 74.00 and 46.00 nodules plant−1 under S. fredii and B. japonicum, respectively. S. fredii also produced the highest shoot (5.70 g plant−1) and root biomass (2.70–2.80 g plant−1). Integrative indices significantly differentiated treatment performance, confirming S. fredii as the most effective inoculant and demonstrating the value of combined nodulation-biomass assessment for evaluating rhizobial effectiveness. Rhizobial inoculation significantly enhanced cowpea nodulation and biomass production. Sinorhizobium fredii exhibited superior nodulation and symbiotic effectiveness. Soil microbial conditions strongly influenced nodulation establishment and treatment response. Mineral nitrogen promoted vegetative growth but suppressed nodulation. Integrative indices (NBER, BAR and SAI) improved discrimination of rhizobial effectiveness. Rhizobial inoculation significantly enhanced cowpea nodulation and biomass production. Sinorhizobium fredii exhibited superior nodulation and symbiotic effectiveness. Soil microbial conditions strongly influenced nodulation establishment and treatment response. Mineral nitrogen promoted vegetative growth but suppressed nodulation. Integrative indices (NBER, BAR and SAI) improved discrimination of rhizobial effectiveness.
J. Yahaya, O. Fawole, Omoniyi Isiaq Lawal et al.· Discover Soil· 0 citations
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