Performance of Phosphate Solubilizing Bacteria in Tea ( Camellia sinensis L.) Rhizosphere

A pot experiment was conducted to assess the effect of phosphate solubilizing bacteria (PSB) on the availability of applied P in acid soil using tea (Camellia sinensis L. var. CP-1) as test crop. Six strains of PSB (Bacillus firmus strain TPB-1, Burkholderia sp. strain TPB-33, Bacillus firmus strain TPB-38, Burkholderia sp. strain TPB-40, Burkholderia cepacia strain TPB-52 and Burkholderia sp. strain TPB-57) were used for inoculation using liquid and charcoal-based delivery system. To assess the effect of PSBs on P solubilization, bacterial inocula were used with and without rock phosphate (RP) application. Results indicated that maximum P-uptake (15.6 mg/pot) in tea shoot was recorded in case of inoculation with Burkholderia sp. strain TPB-57 using charcoal-based delivery system (T12-TPB 57C). As far as the crop response is concerned, the highest biomass yield of test crop (10.5 g/pot) was also recorded with T12-TPB 57C in the presence of RP. The study indicates that as far as P solubilization by PSB in tea rhizosphere is concerned, Burkholderia sp. strain TPB-57 is an efficient microbial genus.