Interaction Between Beneficial Bacteria and Sugarcane

Abstract

Eco-friendly sugarcane production is constantly faced with growing demands for increased productivity. Current biotechnology, based on growth promotion through bacterial inoculants, presents us with the opportunity to increase production without an adverse environmental impact. To this end, plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) with their diverse agricultural characteristics, like nitrogen fixation and production of plant regulators, are a good choice in achieving this goal. Characterization of the abilities of different strains will define their potential use, which for the most part is not limited to a single desirable feature. Therefore, our aim was to contribute to the present understanding of the principal activities of PGPB in sugarcane, to provide some simple and common methods for selecting them, and to draw attention to sugarcane breeding for selection of responsive clones for PGPB inoculation.