Efficacy of rhizobacteria in suppressing weed growth

The production of bioherbicides from isolates of deleterious rhizobacteria capable of suppressing plant growth is a sustainable method for weed management. The objective of this research was to evaluate whether rhizobacteria that potentially inhibit plant growth interfere with the growth of weeds. The experiment was carried out in a greenhouse in a completely randomized design with four replications. The treatments consisted of inoculating seeds of the weeds Bidens pilosa L., Senna occidentalis (L.) Link, and Ipomoea nil (L.) Roth with two distinct isolates of rhizobacteria (171 and 122), as well as cultivating these weeds without inoculation. At 50 days after sowing of the weeds, the height, stem diameter, shoot dry matter, and root dry matter were measured. Inoculation with isolates 171 and 122 did not influence the growth in height, diameter, shoot dry matter, or root dry matter of the weeds. It is concluded that rhizobacteria 171 and 122 do not have the potential to inhibit the growth of the weeds B. pilosa, S. occidentalis, and I. nil.