Bio-associative effect of rhizobacteria on nodulation and yield of mungbean (Vigna radiata L.) under saline conditions

A beneficial association between rhizobacteria and roots of leguminous plant may results in the development of more nodulation on the roots of legume. Therefore, co-inoculation of rhizobia and plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) was tested for improving nodulation and yield of mungbean under salt stressed conditions. In this study, one pre-isolated strain of each Rhizobium ( Rhizobium phasoli ) and PGPR ( Pseudomonas putida - KB 3 ) were tested as sole inoculation as well as in all possible combinations at three salinity levels (Original, 4.0 and 8.0 dS m -1 ) with six replicates by using two factorial under Complete Randomized Design (CRD). The results demonstrated that co-inoculation increased the plant height, fresh biomass, straw yield, grain yield, 100-grain weight, number of nodules per plant, nodule fresh weight, nodule dry weight, root length, root dry weight significantly at different salinity levels under pot conditions. Biochemical analysis of plant samples (straw and grain) showed a significantly (P<0.05) higher protein content, N concentration in straw, P concentration in grain and straw at different salinity levels under pot conditions in comparison to respective control (uninoculated). Post-harvest soil analysis revealed that the integrated use of bacterial co-inoculants along with compost also improved the quality of soil health. The finding of this study imply that co-inoculation with R. phasoli and P. putida - KB 3 could be the most effective for achieving better nodulation and yield of mungbean under saline conditions