Exploration of Plant Growth-Promoting Rhizobacteria Associated with Root Nodules of Arachis hypogaea

Abstract

In the last two decades, there has been a growing interest in environmentally friendly sustainable agricultural practices,
thus increasing the role of bioinoculants in rhizobacteria. Bioinoculants were used to fertilise the soil to scale up plant
growth and quality crop yield without generating environmental threats and health risks in the eco-friendly aspects. The
present study focused on characterising the efficacy of potent plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) isolated
from Arachis hypogaea root nodules. Eleven isolates were identified as Gram-negative with distinctive morphological
characteristics and plant growth-promoting traits deputed as A.hypogaea isolates with the number appended from VS1
to VS11. One of the thirteen isolates namely VS11 was efficient in plant growth promoting PGP traits, the 16S rRNA
sequencing analysis revealed that the isolate belonged to the genus Bacillus pumilus. This isolate can be harnessed as a
bioinoculant significantly providing an environment-friendly approach on a broad spectrum to increase crop production
and quality; reduce expenses for fertilizers and pesticides; mitigate environmental issues; meet food demand and healthy
lifestyle, development of sustainable agriculture and commercialization by using plant growth promoting rhizobacteria
with global applicability.