Phosphate-solubilizing bacteria improves nutrient uptake in aerobic rice

Abstract

Phosphate-solubilizing bacteria (PSB) are frequently used in agriculture as plant growth promoters because they provide soluble P to growing plants by solubilizing complex soil inorganic phosphates like Al-P, Fe-P, and Ca-P. Several PSB strains isolated from local aerobic rice are able to solubilize P from insoluble P through production of organic acids, for example, oxalic, malic, succinic, and propionic acids. Hence, the application of PSB plays a vital role in supplying P to growing plants. The application of PSB strains in this study solubilized higher P from the soil and significantly enhanced plant uptake in aerobic rice. Besides possessing P-solubilizing activity, PSB has greater potential to produce phytohormones, for example, indoleacetic acid, and enzymes like phosphatase and phytases. The continuous supply of soluble P to soil P pool and phytohormones in the root environment have resulted in the increased P uptake and consequently improved the growth of aerobic rice. The impact of PSB on aerobic rice is highlighted in this chapter.