Isolation and Identification of Phosphate Solubilizing Bacteria from Agricultural Soils of Modoji, Batagarawa, and Umaru Musa Yar'adua University of Katsina Metropolis

Phosphorus is the least mobile and available to plants in most soil conditions despite being abundant in organic and inorganic forms. Phosphate solubilizing bacteria (PSB) play an important role in supplying Phosphorus to plants in a more environmentally friendly and sustainable manner to circumvent phosphorus deficiency. This study aims to isolate and identify Phosphate solubilizing bacteria from the agricultural soils of Modoji, Batagarawa, and Umaru Musa Yar'adua University Katsina. The rhizosphere soil samples were taken from 4 distinct locations and serially diluted, and the pour plate method was employed. Gram reaction and subsequent biochemical tests for the isolates were conducted. Rhizospheric soil bacterial isolates were isolated and screened for phosphate solubilization using the National Botanical Research Institute’s phosphate growth medium (NBRIP) and Pikovskaya (PVK) medium. Results showed that total rhizospheric bacterial count ranged from (6.84x10⁷ CFU/g - 12.20x10⁷CFU/g). All twelve (12) isolates were found to be gram-negative: Pseudomonas sp. (91.7%) and Bacillus sp. (8.3%) and were observed to be positive for starch and gelatin hydrolysis test. The diameters of the phosphate solubilization clearance zones ranged from 14.5 ± 0.5 – 27.0 mm. It was concluded that these isolates can be used as plant growth-promoting agents and as biofertilizers in sustainable agriculture.