INVESTIGATION FOR BENEFICIAL CHARACTERISTICS OF PLANT GROWTH PROMOTING RHIZOBACTERIA FROM OKRA PLANTS COLLECTED FROM DIFFERENT REGIONS

Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) are known to enhance soil fertility, crop yield, and plant growth through various direct and indirect mechanisms.This study aimed to investigate the beneficial characteristics of PGPR isolated from okra plants collected from district Mansehra, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.Twenty-three morphologically distinct strains were isolated and subjected to a series of biochemical tests, including gram staining, phosphate and zinc solubilization, hydrogen cyanide (HCN) production, indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) production, exopolysaccharide (EPS) production, ammonia production, hydrolytic enzyme production, and nitrogen fixation.The results revealed that 15 strains were capable of solubilizing phosphate, and 13 strains could solubilize zinc.None of the tested strains produced HCN, while 2 strains were able to producers IAA.EPS production was observed in 11 strains, and ammonia production was noted in 20 strains.Hydrolytic enzyme assays showed that 13 strains produced amylase, 16 produced cellulase, 16 produced pectinase, and 20 produced proteases.Notably, all isolated strains demonstrated the ability to fix nitrogen.These findings highlight the potential of these PGPR strains as biofertilizers to improve soil fertility and promote plant growth, particularly in okra cultivation.