Impact of Piriformospora indica, Pseudomonas species and Mesorhizobium cicer on growth of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.)

The present study was conducted to examine synergistic interactions among Piriformospora indica (PI) with potential plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) and Mesorhizobium cicer (LGR33, MR) in two chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) varieties viz. desi PBG1 and kabuli BG1053. Different PGPR species were used viz. native isolates of Pseudomonas argentinensis (LPGPR1), Pseudomonas sp. (LPGPR2) along with national check Pseudomonas sp. (LK884). Compatibility of MR, PI and differentPseudomonas spp. was studied by streak assay method and growth of fungal pellicle in-vitro. Consortium of MR+PI+LPGPR1 (0.605 g dry weight fungal pellicle/100ml nutrient broth) was found as the best compatible treatment. In vivo the synergistic effect of consortia was studied for improving dry weight of roots, nutrient acquisition, colonization and stress tolerance ability in chickpea. Significant improvement in dry weight of root was observed with MR+PI+LPGPR1 (1.316 g plant-1) in comparison to MR alone treatment (0.980 g plant-1) at 90 days after sowing (DAS). Percentage colonization of P.indica improved significantly with consortium MR+PI+LPGPR1 (75.5 and 78.3 %) treatment at 90 DAS. All the treatments significantly improved total soluble sugar content (12.2-26.9 %); amino N content (1.36-1.80 fold) and stress tolerance ability (4-6 fold) over the MR alone treatment. Reducing sugar content significantly improved with MR+PI+LPGPR1 (0.62 and 0.79 mg mL–1) over MR alone (0.42 and 0.58 mg mL–1) treatment in desiPBG1 and kabuli BG1053 chickpea, respectively. The tripartite combination MR+LPGPR1+PI can be explored as potent biofertilizer for improvment in chickpea productivity.