Growth and Yield Enhancement in Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) Through Rhizobacterial Biopriming and Variable Phosphorus Applications

Plant-microbe relations in the rhizosphere play a vital role in enhancing soil fertility and improving crop output. Phosphorus (P) is one of the most vital nutrient for plants, yet its availability for plant in various types of soil is inadequate due to fixation. Plant growth promoting rhizobacterial (PGPR) inoculation, especially containing ACC-deaminase and phosphate-solubilizing activities, has emerged as a promising approach to mitigate phosphorus deficiency and enhance crop growth. This study investigates the consequence of PGPR having single activity (ACC-deaminase only), and PGPR having dual activity (ACC-deaminase and phosphate-solubilizing) , on wheat growth with three phosphorus levels(P1= 00 kg ha-1, P2= 45 kg ha-1, and P3= 90kg ha-¹ P2O5). The experiment was conducted in a randomized complete block split-plot design using three rhizobacterial treatments combined with phosphorus doses. The treatments were RB1=no inoculation (control), RB2 = inoculated with Pseudomonas fluorescens having single activity of ACC-deaminase, and RB3= inoculated with Pseudomonas fluorescens having dual ability (ACC-deaminase & phosphate-solubilizing). Results demonstrated that the best treatment (90 kg ha-1 with Rhizobacterial inoculation having dual ability) significantly improved biological yield by 62.86%, grain yield by 87.72% and straw yield by 46.34% over the control and increased biological yield by 8.53%, grain yield by 12.41% and Straw yield by 5.10% was noted as compared to other (45 kg ha-1 with RB3),.Specifically plant height, Spike plant-1,Spikelet spike-1, 1000 grain weight, Harvest index, Grain straw ratio, Total P concentration, Grain P concentration and straw P concentration were also enhanced to a significant levels, showing an increase of 3.17% to329.91% over control and 0.86 % to 50.08% compared to 45 kg ha-1 with RB3. We conclude that the PGPR with dual activity inoculation was found to be more efficient over PGPR with single activity under P deficient and adequate conditions