Effect of fungicides on plant growth promoting activities of phosphate solubilizing Pseudomonas putida isolated from mustard (Brassica compestris) rhizosphere

This study was navigated to examine the effects of fungicide-stress on the activities of plant-growth-promoting rhizobacterium Pseudomonas putida with inherent phosphate solubilizing activity. The fungicide-tolerant and phosphate solubilizing P. putida strain PS9 was isolated from the mustard rhizosphere and tentatively identified following standard morphological, physiological and biochemical tests. To further consolidate the identity of the strain PS9, the 16S rDNA sequence analysis was performed. Following the BLAST program, the strain PS9 was identified as P. putida. In the presence of the varying concentrations (0-3200 mu g mL(-1); at a two fold dilution interval) of four fungicides of different chemical families (tebuconazole, hexaconazole, metalaxyl and kitazin) amended in minimal salt agar medium, the P. putida strain P59 showed a variable tolerance levels (1400-3200 mu g mL(-1)) against the tested fungicides. The strain PS9 produced plant-growth-promoting (PGP) substances in significant amount in the absence of fungicides. In general, fungicides applied at the recommended, two and three times of the recommended rates, decreased the PGP attributes of P. putida the strain PS9 and affected the PGP activities in concentration-dependent manner. Fungicides at the recommended dose had minor reducing effect while the doses higher than the recommended dose significantly reduced the PGP activities (phosphate solubilization, salicylic acid, 2,3-dihydroxy benzoic acid, and indole-3-acetic acid production except exo-polysaccharides, hydrogen cyanate and ammonia production). Of the four fungicides, tebuconazole generally, showed maximum toxicity to the PGP activities of the strain PS9. This study inferred that fungicides must be examined in vitro for their possible adverse effects on soil micro flora before their application in agricultural fields. Moreover, the results also suggested the prerequisite of application of fungicide-tolerant PGPR strains as bioinoculants so that their PGP activities may not be suppressed under fungicide stress. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.