Southern corn leaf blight (SCLB) is an important foliar disease of maize. In this study, an induced systemic resistance (ISR)‐eliciting rhizobacterium Bacillus cereus C1L was used to protect maize against SCLB. Application of B. cereus C1L in maize rhizosphere effectively protected maize from SCLB under greenhouse and field conditions. The protection effect of B. cereus C1L was similar to that of Maneb (2 kg active ingredient per hectare), a recommended fungicide. Furthermore, possible factors of B. cereus C1L to elicit ISR and to promote plant growth were investigated. The results indicate that secreted factors and rhizosphere colonisation ability of B. cereus C1L are involved in ISR elicitation. In addition to biocontrol activity, B. cereus C1L was able to promote growth of maize in field. Compared with a non‐treated control, leaf length, leaf width, plant height and fresh and dry weights of B. cereus C1L‐treated corn plants significantly increased. Therefore, B. cereus C1L acts as a plant growth‐promoting rhizobacterium of maize.

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