Novel phosphate solubilizing bacteria 'Pantoea cypripedii PS1' along with Enterobacter aerogenes PS16 and Rhizobium ciceri enhance the growth of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.)

Phosphate solubilizing bacteria (PSB) are known to convert the insoluble forms of phosphate to soluble one and make them available for plant uptake. The present study aimed to isolate PSB from the rhizosphere of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L. cv. GPF2) and examine their effect on the growth and seed number. The isolated PSB were analyzed for phosphate solubilization, indole acetic acid and siderophore production. PSB were characterized for phenotypic and biochemical properties, BIOLOG and whole-cell fatty acid methyl ester profile and found to be closely related to Pantoea cypripedii and Enterobacter aerogenes based on 16s rRNA gene sequencing. A high increase in growth of C. arietinum was observed when innoculated with PSB in tricalcium phosphate amended soils. A higher uptake in total P (53 %) of plants was observed when inoculated with mixture of P. cypripedii and E. aerogenes along with Rhizobium ciceri as compared to respective control plants which significantly increased the seed number (98.3 %) and seed weight (46.1 %). This study demonstrated the ability of novel PSB P. cypripedii along with E. aerogenes and R. ciceri to promote chickpea growth.