Evaluating Pseudomonas aeruginosa as Plant Growth–Promoting Rhizobacteria in West Africa

Authors

Anthony O. Adesemoye, Adekunle Ajasin University and Auburn UniversityFollow
Esther O. Ugoji, University of Lagos

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

2-2009

Citation

Archives of Phytopathology and Plant Protection 42:2 (February 2009), pp. 188–200.

doi: 10.1080/03235400601014791

Comments

Copyright © 2009 Taylor & Francis. Used by permission.

Abstract

Some parameters of growth were examined in three test crops as indices of plant growth–promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) ability of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Crops include Abelmoschus esculentus L. (okra), Lycopersicon esculentum L. (tomato), and Amaranthus sp. (African spinach). This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of PGPR in West Africa and determine whether the inoculation method has an impact on PGPR’s effectiveness. Bacterium was isolated from topsoil in the Botanical Garden, University of Lagos, Nigeria. Inoculation with bacteria was done by soaking seeds in 10⁶ cfu/ml of bacterial suspension, and coating was done using 10% starch (w/v) as seed adhesive with 10⁶ cfu/ml of bacterial suspension. The third treatment involved soaking seeds in distilled water and later applying NPK 15:15:15 fertilizer. Control seeds were soaked in distilled water. Two methods of bacterial inoculation (soaking and coating) produced statistically similar results to plants grown with fertilizer but performed better than the control, suggesting a high potential of P. aeruginosa as PGPR.