Coinoculation of bioinoculants improve Acacia auriculiformis seedling growth and quality in a tropical Alfisol soil

Abstract

We conducted a study to find out if arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi (Acaulospora scrobiculata, Scutellospora calospora) and phosphate solubilizing bacteria (PSB, Paenibacillus polymyxa) inoculation either individually or in combinations can improve Acacia auriculiformis seedling growth, uptake of nutrients and quality in a phosphorus deficient tropical Alfisol. The seedlings were assessed for various growth and nutrient uptake parameters after 60 days of treatment. Inoculation with P. polymyxa stimulated mycorrhizal formation. Seedling height, stem girth, taproot length, number of leaves and leaf area, plant dry matter production, nodulation, and nodular dry weight were significantly higher for seedlings that were either dual inoculated or triple inoculated compared to individual inoculation of AM fungi or PSB, and uninoculated seedlings. Dual and triple application of AM fungi and PSB also significantly improved the nutrient contents of shoots and roots and nutrient uptake efficiencies. The calculated seedling quality indexes of the AM fungi and PSB inoculated seedling were 25–208% higher than uninoculated seedlings. These findings show that A. auriculiformis seedlings when dual inoculated or triple inoculated performed better than seedlings inoculated with the microbes individually and compared with uninoculated control seedlings. We conclude that bioinoculation is important for the production of high-quality A. auriculiformis seedlings in tree nurseries for planting in nutrient deficient soils.

Keywords

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi / Nutrient uptake efficiency / Paenibacillus polymyxa / Relative field mycorrhizal dependency / Seedling quality

References

[1] Arthurson V, Hjort K, Muleta D, Jäderlund L, Granhall U. Effects on Glomus mosseae root colonization by Paenibacillus polymyxa and Paenibacillus brasilensis strains as related to soil P-availability in winter wheat. Appl Environ Soil Sci, 2011, 2011: 9.

[2] Barea JM, Pozo MJ, Azcón R, Azcón-Aguilar C. Microbial co-operation in the rhizosphere. J Exp Bot, 2005, 56(417): 1761-1778.

[3] Bashan Y, Salazar B, Puente ME. Responses of native legume desert trees used for reforestation in the Sonoran Desert to plant growth-promoting microorganisms in screen house. Biol Fertil Soils, 2009, 45(6): 655-662.

[4] Bensmihen S. Hormonal control of lateral root and nodule development in legumes. Plants, 2015, 4(3): 523-547.

[5] Davis DJ. Tracey MV, Peach K. Emission and absorption spectrochemical methods. Modern methods of plant analysis, 1962, Berlin: Springer 1 25

[6] Dickson A, Leaf AL, Hosner JF. Quality appraisal of white spruce and white pine seedling stock in forest nurseries. For Chron, 1960, 36(1): 10-13.

[7] Diouf D, Duponnois R, Ba AT, Neyra M, Lesueur D. Symbiosis of Acacia auriculiformis and Acacia mangium with mycorrhizal fungi and Bradyrhizobium spp. improves salt tolerance in greenhouse conditions. Funct Plant Biol, 2005, 32(12): 1143-1152.

[8] Dumroese RK, Jacobs DF, Davis AS. Inoculating Acacia koa with Bradyrhizobium and applying fertilizer in the nursery: effects on nodule formation and seedling growth. HortSci., 2009, 44(2): 443-446.

[9] Duponnois R, Founoune H, Lesueur D, Thioulouse J, Neyra M. Ectomycorrhization of six Acacia auriculiformis provenances from Australia, Papua New Guinea and Senegal in glasshouse conditions: effect on the plant growth and on the multiplication of plant parasitic nematodes. Aust J Exp Agric, 2000, 40(3): 443-450.

[10] Founoune HB, Bâ A, Plenchette C, El Jaafari S, Neyra M, Ducousso M. Ectomycorrhization of Acacia holosericea A Cunn. ex G Don by Pisolithus spp in Senegal: effect on plant growth and on the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne javanica. Ann For Sci, 2000, 57(4): 345-350.

[11] Frey-Klett P, Garbaye J, Tarkka M. The mycorrhiza helper bacteria revisited. New Phytol, 2007, 176(1): 22-36.

[12] Garbaye J. Helper bacteria: a new dimension to the mycorrhizal symbiosis. New Phytol, 1994, 128(2): 197-210.

[13] Ghosh S, Verma NK. Growth and mycorrhizal dependency of Acacia mangium Willd. inoculated with three vesicular arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in lateritic soil. New For, 2006, 31(1): 75-81.

[14] Giri B, Kapoor R, Agarwal L, Mukerji KG. Preinoculation with arbuscular mycorrhizae helps Acacia auriculiformis grow in degraded Indian wasteland soil. Commun Soil Sci Plant Anal, 2004, 35(1–2): 193-204.

[15] Girjashankar V. Micropropagation of multipurpose medicinal tree Acacia auriculiformis. J Med Plants Res, 2011, 5(3): 462-466.

[16] Gray JT, Schlesinger WH. Nutrient use by evergreen and deciduous shrubs in southern California. J Ecol, 1983, 71(1): 43-56.

[17] Gregory PJ. Gregory PJ. Roots and the architecture of root systems. Plant roots: growth, activity, and interaction with soils, 2006, Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Ltd 18 44

[18] Griffin AR, Midgley SJ, Bush D, Cunningham PJ, Rinaudo AT. Global uses of Australian acacias—recent trends and future prospects. Divers Distrib, 2011, 17(5): 837-847.

[19] Hart MM, Reader RJ. Taxonomic basis for variation in the colonization strategy of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. New Phytol, 2002, 153(2): 335-344.

[20] Hildebrandt U, Ouziad F, Marner FJ, Bothe H. The bacterium Paenibacillus validus stimulates growth of the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus Glomus intraradices up to the formation of fertile spores. FEMS Microbiol Lett, 2006, 254(2): 258-267.

[21] Jackson ML. Soil chemical analysis, 1971, New Delhi: Prentice Hall 498

[22] Khan BM, Hossain MK, Mridha MAU. Improving Acacia auriculiformis seedlings using microbial inoculant (Beneficial Microorganisms). J For Res, 2014, 25(2): 359-364.

[23] Kiers ET, Duhamel M, Beesetty Y, Mensah JA, Franken O, Verbruggen E, Felbaum CR, Kowalchuk GA, Hart MM, Bago A, Palmer TM, West SA, Vandenkoornhuyse P, Jansa J, Bücking H. Reciprocal rewards stabilize cooperation in the mycorrhizal symbiosis. Science, 2011, 333(6044): 880-882.

[24] Kushalapa KA (1991) Performance of Acacia auriculiformis in India. In: Turnbull, JW (ed.) Advances in tropical acacia research. Proceedings of an international workshop held in Bangkok, Thailand. Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, Canberra, pp 189–193

[25] Lamani VK, Patil SK, Manjunath GO. Growth of Acacia auriculiformis as influenced by N, P and K fertilizer. Karnataka J Agric Sci, 2004, 17(4): 872-874.

[26] Lee E-H, Eo J-K, Ka K-H, Eom A-H. Diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and their roles in ecosystems. Mycobiology, 2013, 41(3): 121-125.

[27] López-Bucio J, Cruz-Ramıreź A, Herrera-Estrella L. The role of nutrient availability in regulating root architecture. Curr Opin Plant Biol, 2003, 6(3): 280-287.

[28] McGonigle TP, Miller MH, Evans DG, Fairchild GL, Swan JA. A method which gives an objective measure of colonization of roots by vesicular–arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. New Phytol, 1990, 115(3): 495-501.

[29] Muthukumar T, Udaiyan K. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal composition in semi-arid soils of Western Ghats, southern India. Curr Sci, 2002, 82(6): 624-628.

[30] Muthukumar T, Udaiyan K. Growth of nursery grown bamboo inoculated with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and plant growth promoting rhizobacteria in two tropical soil types with and without fertilizer application. New For, 2006, 81(3): 469-485.

[31] Muthukumar T, Udaiyan K. Growth response and nutrient utilization of Casuarina equisetifolia seedlings inoculated with bioinoculants under tropical nursery conditions. New For, 2010, 40(1): 101-118.

[32] Muthukumar T, Udaiyan K, Rajeshkannan V. Response of neem (Azadirachta indica A. Juss) to indigenous arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, phosphate-solubilizing and symbiotic nitrogen-fixing bacteria under tropical nursery conditions. Biol Fertil Soils, 2001, 34(6): 417-426.

[33] Perez-Perez JM. Hormone signalling and root development: an update on the latest Arabidopsis thaliana research. Funct Plant Biol, 2007, 34(3): 163-171.

[34] Plenchette C, Fortin JA, Furlan V. Growth responses of several plant species to mycorrhizae in a soil of moderate P-fertility I. Mycorrhizal dependency under field conditions. Plant Soil, 1983, 70(2): 199-209.

[35] Porter WM. The most probable number method for enumerating infective propagules of vesicular– arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in soil. Aust J Soil Res, 1979, 17(3): 515-519.

[36] Prasad K, Aggarwal A, Yadav K, Tanwar A. Impact of different levels of superphosphate using arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and Pseudomonas fluorescens on Chrysanthemum indicum L. J Soil Sci Plant Nutr, 2012, 12(3): 451-462.

[37] Rajan SK, Reddy BJD, Bagyaraj DJ. Screening of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi for their symbiotic efficiency with Tectona grandis. Forest Ecol Manag, 2000, 126(2): 91-95.

[38] Ratha Krishnan P, Kalia RK, Tewari JC, Roy MM. Plant nursery management: principles and practices, 2014, Jodhpur: Central Arid Zone Research Institute 40

[39] Ravindranath NH, Murthy IK, Priya J, Upgupta S, Mehra S, Nalin S. Forest area estimation and reporting: implications for conservation, management and REDD+. Curr Sci, 2014, 106(9): 1201-1206.

[40] Rodríguez H, Fraga R. Phosphate solubilizing bacteria and their role in plant growth promotion. Biotechnol Adv, 1999, 17(4–5): 319-339.

[41] Shukla NK, Lal M, Singh RS, Khanduri AK. Physical and mechanical properties of Acacia auriculiformis, Fernandoa adenophylla and Melia azaderach. J Timber Dev Assoc India, 1990, 36(1): 31-45.

[42] Smith SE, Read DJ. Mycorrhizal symbiosis, 2008 3 San Diego: Academic Press 815

[43] Smith SE, Smith FA. Fresh perspectives on the roles of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in plant nutrition and growth. Mycologia, 2012, 104(1): 1-13.

[44] Uddin MB, Khan MASA, Mukul SA, Hossain MK. Effects of inorganic fertilizers on biological nitrogen fixation and seedling growth of some agroforestry trees in Bangladesh. J For Res, 2008, 19(4): 303-306.

[45] Van VT, Berge O, Ke SN, Balandreau J, Heulin T. Repeated beneficial effects of rice inoculation with a strain of Burkholderia vietnamiensis on early and late yield components in low fertility sulphate acid soils of Vietnam. Plant Soil, 2000, 218(1): 273-284.

[46] World Bank (2011) Forest area (% of land area) [Data file]. Retrieved August 14, 2012 from http://data.worldbank.org/indicator

[47] Yang L, Liu N, Ren H, Wang J. Facilitation by two exotic Acacia: acacia auriculiformis and Acacia mangium as nurse plants in South China. For Ecol Manag, 2009, 257(8): 1786-1793.

[48] Yang H, Zhang Q, Dai Y, Liu Q, Tang J, Bian X, Chen X. Effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on plant growth depend on root system: a meta-analysis. Plant Soil, 2015, 389(1): 361-374.

[49] Yao Q, Wang LR, Zhu HH, Chen JZ. Effect of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal inoculation on root system architecture of trifoliate orange (Poncirus trifoliata L. Raf.) seedlings. Sci Hortic, 2009, 121(4): 458-461.

[50] Yooyongwech S, Phaukinsang N, Cha-Um S, Supaibulwatana K. Arbuscular mycorrhiza improved growth performance in Macadamia tetraphylla L. grown under water deficit stress involves soluble sugar and proline accumulation. Plant Growth Regul., 2013, 69(3): 285-293.

[51] Zhang L, Fan J, Ding XD, He X, Zhang F, Feng G. Hyphosphere interactions between an arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus and a phosphate solubilizing bacterium promote phytate mineralization in soil. Soil Biol Biochem, 2014, 74: 177-183.