N . P AR M AR AN D K. R. D AD AR W AL . 1999. Bacteria belonging to fluorescent Pseudomonas and to the spore-forming Bacillus groups, predominantly found in the rhizosphere and rhizoplane of healthy chickpea plants, were studied in order to determine their effect on effective strains of Rhizobium sp. 'Cicer' (Ca181 and Ca313) and their plant growthpromoting ability under aseptic and soil conditions. Co-inoculation of the rhizobacteria with effective Rhizobium strains of chickpea resulted in a significant increase in nodule weight, root and shoot biomass and total plant nitrogen when grown either in sterilized chillum jars or under pot culture conditions. The Rhizobium stimulatory Pseudomonas sp. 'CRP55b' showed maximum increase in all the symbiotic parameters. On co-inoculation with 'Ca181' and 'Ca313', Pseudomonas sp. 'CRP55b' and 'CRS68' resulted in significant increases in nodule weight, root and shoot biomass and total plant nitrogen. The nodule stimulating rhizobacteria enhanced levels of flavonoid-like compounds in roots on seed bacterization. Also, ethyl acetate extracts of culture supernatant fluids when applied to seeds resulted in enhancement of flavonoids in roots, suggesting that the rhizobacteria have a direct influence on root flavonoids which might be an additional factor in nodule promotion by these bacteria. These rhizobacteria also produced fluorescent compounds with absorption maxima at 252 nm, similar to those of plant flavonoids but having a different Rf value. Whether such fluorescent compounds act as signal molecules for induction of plant flavonoids in plant roots requires further study.

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Pseudomonas strains isolated from the rhizosphere of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) and green gram (Vigna radiata L.) were screened for the production of chitinases and cellulases. Five Pseudomonas strains were found to produce appreciable amounts of both enzymes in culture-free supernatants and showed growth inhibition of the two fungi Pythium aphanidermatum (Oomycete) and Rhizoctonia solani (Basidiomycete) in plates on potato dextrose agar medium. The fungal growth inhibition was not correlated with cell wall-degrading enzyme activity, which suggested that other antifungal compounds produced by these rhizobacteria were also involved in antagonism. Coinoculation of the Pseudomonas strains with the Mesorhizobium sp. Cicer strain Ca 181 resulted in a significant increase in nodule biomass when grown under sterilized chillum jar conditions. The results suggest that hydrolytic enzymes produced by Pseudomonas sp. contribute to suppression of plant diseases by inhibiting growth of phytopathogenic fungi and also promote nodulation of legumes by rhizobia.

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