Inoculants of Azospirillum brasilense: Biomass production, survival and growth promotion of Setaria italica and Zea mays

• Published in: Soil biology & biochemistry Vol. 28; no. 1; pp. 123 - 126
• Main Authors: Fallik, Elazar, Okon, Yaacov
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 1996; New York, NY Elsevier Science
• Subjects: Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions; Azospirillum brasilense; Biological and medical sciences; Economic plant physiology; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Setaria italica; Symbiosis (nodules, symbiotic nitrogen fixation, mycorrhiza...); Zea mays; Industrial production; Monocotyledones; Zea mays; Spirillales; Spirillaceae; Azospirillum brasilense; Fermenter; Cereal crop; Bioreactor; Inoculation; Gramineae; Angiospermae; Microorganism culture; Bacteria; Spermatophyta; Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria; Setaria italica; Greenhouse study; Inoculum
• ISSN: 0038-0717; 1879-3428
• DOI: 10.1016/0038-0717(95)00084-4

We grew Azospirillum brasilense biomass in fed-batch culture for 28 h using succinic acid as a C source and liquid NH 3 as N source. Viable cell concentration reached 1–3 × 10 10 CFU ml −1 after 28 h. Ground or granular peat, serving as carriers for the bacteria, maintained the highest number of A. brasilense compared to vermiculite, talcum powder, basalt granules or bentonite. A. brasilense viable counts declined from about 10 10 CFU g −1 peat to 10 5–10 6 CFU g −1 peat after 6 months. A pot system for evaluating the effect of A. brasilense inoculants on plant growth in greenhouses demonstrated that application of peat-carrier containing 10 8 CFU g −1 peat, significantly increased panicle length and dry weight of Setaria italica and ear and kernel weight of maize ( Zea mays L). Highest growth promotion effects on maize were observed when using A. brasilense cells containing 40% polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) and by applying the peat inoculant 2 cm below the maize seed.