The growth response of rice (Oryza sativa L. var. FARO 44) in vitro after inoculation with bacterial isolates from a typical ferruginous ultisol

Background Rice forms a significant portion of food consumed in most household worldwide. Rice production has been hampered by soil factors such as ferruginousity which has limited phosphorus availability; an important mineral component for the growth and yield of rice. The presence of phosphate-solubilizing bacteria (PSB) in soils has been reported to enhance phosphate availability. In view of this, the present study employed three bacteria species (BCAC2, EMBF2 and BCAF1) that were previously isolated and proved P solubilization capacities as inocula to investigate the growth response of rice germinants in an in vitro setup. The bacteria isolates were first identified using 16S rRNA gene sequencing and then applied as inoculum. The inolula were prepared in three concentrations (10, 7.5 and 5.0 ml) following McFarland standard. Viable rice (var. FARO 44) seeds were sown in petri dishes and then inoculated with the three inocula at the different concentrations. The setup was studied for 28 days. Results 16S rRNA gene sequencing identified the isolates as: isolate BCAC2= Bacillus cereus strain GGBSU-1, isolate BCAF1= Proteus mirabilis strain TL14-1 and isolate EMBF2= Klebsiella variicola strain AUH-KAM-9. Significant improvement in rice germination, morphology, physiology and biomass parameters in the bacteria-inoculated setups was observed compared to the control. Germination percentage after 4 days was 100 % in the inoculated rice germinants compared to 65% in the control (NiS). Similarly, inoculation with the test isolates enhanced water-use efficiency by over 40%. The rice seedlings inoculated with Bacillus cereus strain GGBSU-1 (BiS) showed no signs of chlorosis and necrosis throughout the study period as against those inoculated with Proteus mirabilis strain TL14-1 (PiS) and Klebsiella variicola strain AUH-KAM-9 (KiS). Significant increase in chlorophyll-a, chlorophyll-b and alpha amylase was observed in the rice seedlings inoculated with BiS as against the NiS. Conclusion Inoculating rice seeds with Bacillus cereus strain GGBSU-1, Proteus mirabilis strain TL14-1 and Klebsiella variicola strain AUH-KAM-9 in an in vitro media significantly improved growth parameters of the test plant. Bacillus cereus strain GGBSU-1 showed higher efficiency due to a more improved growth properties observed.