EFFICIENCY OF A CULTURE MEDIUM DEVELOPED FROM Parthenium LEAVES FOR ISOLATION OF PLANT GROWTH-PROMOTING BACTERIA

The present study describes the isolation of some unique bacteria from soil and compost samples on a culture medium prepared from the leaves of Parthenium hysterophorus (Carrot Grass). On the basis of colony morphology, 12 morphotypes were selected that were found to exhibit plant growth promoting activities by production of IAA and solubilizing phosphate. Out of these, 3 bacterial isolates were found to significantly stimulate the growth of Chickpea plant grown in a pot under normal environmental conditions. The major growth parameters that were positively influenced by bacterial treatment were plant height, root length, root width and root dry weight. The 16S rRNA gene sequences of these three isolates shared maximum homology with Methylorubrum rhodesianum with varying percentage of similarity.