Mitigation of salinity in chickpea by Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria and salicylic acid

Abstract

For growth or development of pulses, biotic and abiotic environmental factors are moreconspicuous under stress conditions. For the survival against abiotic stresses, salicylicacid (SA) is reported a universal remedy. At the Soil Bacteriology Section, AyubAgricultural Research Institute, Faisalabad, a pot study was conducted to monitor therole of Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR) and Salicylic acid in chickpeaunder salt stress. Eight treatments including control PGPR inoculation and Salicylic acidwith their different combination were used. Results revealed that positive response ofPGPR on productivity of chickpea but more enunciated response about grain yield wasobserved with the combined application of SA and PGPR compared to control. Growthparameters i.e root length, root mass, number of nodules and shoot mass were highlyaffected where SA was applied along with PGPR. From the study, it is proposed thatunder salt stress the combination of SA + PGPR can be a suitable practice for moreproduction of chickpean Pakistan.