Effects of PGPR inoculation and Vermicompost on the growth, physiological traits, microbial activity, and yield of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) plants

Elbagory, Mohssen; Farrag, Diaa K.; Doha, Naeem M. E.

doi:10.21608/jenvbs.2024.302899.1253

Effects of PGPR inoculation and Vermicompost on the growth, physiological traits, microbial activity, and yield of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) plants

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ 1Department of Biology, Faculty of Science and Arts, King Khalid University, Mohail Assir 61321, Saudi Arabia; 2Department of Microbiology, Soils, Water and Environment Research Institute, Agricultural Research Center, Giza 12112, Egypt;

² Department of Vegetarian Restaurants, Horticultural Research Institute, Agricultural Research Center, Giza 12112, Egypt

³ Department of Microbiology, Soils, Water and Environment Research Institute, Agricultural Research Center, Giza 12112, Egypt

10.21608/jenvbs.2024.302899.1253

Abstract

Reduced soil productivity is one of the effects of climate change. This lowers agricultural output, and using inorganic fertilizers will further degrade the quality of the soil. Thus, using organic fertilizer is a good way to increase the number and quality of lettuce plants while using less chemical fertilizer. A randomized block arrangement pot experiment was conducted to examine the effects of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR, Azospirillum lipoferum and Pseudomonas koreneesis) and vermicompost (VC, 10 tone ha-1) on the vegetative growth, physiological traits, soil microbiological activity, chemical composition, and yield of lettuce plants (Lactuca sativa L. c.v. Alcapucci) in the 2021 and 2022 growing seasons. Following 35 days of transplanting, results revealed that T8 therapy (VC + A. lipoferum + P. koreneesis inoculation) recorded the greatest values of total chlorophyll, carotenoids, and total soluble sugar in seasons 2021 and 2022, compared to control treatment (T1). Furthermore, it was discovered that the rhizosphere of lettuce plants cultivated under soil additives with VC and PGPR inoculation in both growing seasons had a significantly (P < 0.05) different microbial community, which comprises the total number of bacteria, Azospirillum, Pseudomonas, and DHA enzyme. For various soil amendment applications with VC and PGPR inoculation, the highest percentage of N, P, and K obtained T8 > T6 > T7 > T5, and for various PGPR inoculation alone, T4 > T3 > T2 > T1.

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