Efficiency of Bacillus coagulans as P biofertilizer to mobilize native soil organic and poorly soluble phosphates and increase crop yield

Abstract

Bacillus coagulans, a phosphatase- and phytase-producing bacterium was isolated and tested under greenhouse conditions and in the field in a loamy sand soil. Bacterial population build-up and efficiency was compared under sterilized and non-sterilized soil conditions. Exploitation of plant unavailable (poorly soluble) P was higher in sterilized soil, mainly due to an increased bacteria population. A gradual increase in microbial build-up of up to 21 times the inoculated population was observed over a 4-week period under the sterilized soil condition. Clusterbean influenced acid phosphatase and phytase activity. The depletion of organic P was much higher than the depletion of mineral and phytin P. The microbial contribution to the hydrolysis of the different P fractions was significantly higher than the plant contribution. The maximum effect of inoculation on different enzyme activities (acid phosphatase, alkaline phosphatase, phytase and dehydrogenase) was observed in pants between 5 and 8 weeks of age. A significant improvement in plant biomass (25%), root length (28%), plant P concentration (22%), seed (19%) and straw yield (28%) resulted from inoculation. The results suggested that B. coagulans produces phosphatases and phytase, which mobilized P from unavailable native P sources and enhanced the production of clusterbean.

Keywords:

• Bacillus coagulans
• phosphatase
• phytase
• dehydrogenase
• poorly soluble P

Acknowledgement

The authors gratefully acknowledge DDG (Education) and Director (CAZRI) for their keen interest in the present study and ICAR for financial support of National Fellow Project under which the present investigation was carried out.