Endophytic Bacteria Improves the Growth of Tomato Plants: An Initial Trial Towards Sustainable Agriculture

Abstract

Microbe-based biofertilizer remains high demand toward sustainable agriculture. Previous study isolated three potential endophytic bacteria from the root of klutuk banana plants namely K2, K8, and K117. The potencies were indicated by IAA production ability. This experiment examined the influence of root inoculation using these endophytic bacteria on the growth of tomato plants. Isolate preparation was initiated by shaking the three isolates in the Nutrient Broth medium for six hours. The seeds of tomato plants were germinated by soaking in sterile water for an hour after surface sterilization. Then, the soaked seeds were incubated for 3 days on the moist paper towel in the petri dish to achieve a high humidity. The germinated tomato seeds were inoculated by soaking the root tip in the bacterial isolates for 10 minutes. Subsequently, the inoculated tomato plants were grown on sterile soils in the greenhouse condition. The height of the plants, leaf count, root length, and quantity of roots were assessed 28 days after inoculation (dai). The t-test analysis indicated two isolates, K2 and K117, significantly improved the height of the plants, leaf count and root lengths compared to the control. In addition, all isolates significantly increased the number of roots of tomato plants. This finding revealed the plant growth improvement caused by root inoculation by these potential endophytic bacteria. This preliminary study gives additional information about a novel biofertilizer for sustainable agriculture.