Salinity has a negative impact on the agricultural production of crops. It adversely affects the physiochemical properties of the soil and ecological balance of the area. Plant growth-promoting bacteria play a key role in the biological control of phyto-pathogens and abiotic stress including salinity. Four varieties of wheat crop (V1: Akbar 2019, V2: Dilkash 2021, V3: Faisalabad 2008, and V4: Subhani 2020) were compared for their salinity stress tolerance and response towards Bacillus subtilis NA2. A completely randomized design (4 wheat varieties × 3 salt stress levels × 3 replicate × 2 control and bacterial treatments = 72 pots) was adopted using distilled water as a control. Stress negatively affected the plant growth. However, plants primed with Bacillus subtilis NA2 showed improved growth (plant lengths 29.45% and increased biomass 33.23%). Overall, bacterial strain enhanced the levels of carotenoids (45.53%), anthocyanin (32.51%), ascorbic acid (41.53%), total soluble proteins (59.21%), chlorophyll contents (49.65%), and peroxidase activity (31.76%). Levels of malondialdehyde (27.42%) and hydrogen peroxide (20.37%), catalase (16.48%), and ascorbate peroxidase (19.24%) decreased. With commensurable benefits, it can be inferred from the above study that the Bacillus subtilis NA2 strain is beneficial for the better yield of wheat under salinity stress by improving the plant defense mechanism and may be adopted in future by farmers.

Metal toxicity has a wide range of direct and indirect effects on plants, affecting nearly all physiological functions. Three different maize cultivars were grown under various chromium stress levels to study the response of Aspergillus niger PMI-1811 to ameliorate the adverse effects of the metal. The aim of the current study is to develop metal tolerance in cereal crops and an increase in maize productivity in Cr stress. A completely randomized design with three replicates of three maize cultivars, chromium levels, control and fungal spore suspension was used as treatment for the plants. Fungi facilitates efficient ammonia production (4.09 ± 0.373, 2.09 ± 0.644 µmol/mL), phosphate solubilization (2.48 ± 0.1 SI) and indole acetic acid (64.83 ± 2.494, 43.91 ± 1.166 µg/mL)) synthesis during in-vitro (control, stress) condition to promote plant health under chromium stress. In this study, Aspergillus niger PMI-1811 assisted the phytoremediation of chromium and improve stress tolerance in various maize (Zea mays L.) cultivars as improved plant length (45.45%) and biomass (47.29%) compared to the untreated plants. Chlorophyll (29.52%), ascorbic acid (89.66%) and other biochemical parameters were increased when compared to the uninoculated plants. Fungal inoculation reduced the accumulation of malondialdehyde (15.73%), hydrogen peroxide (13.64%) and lowered the activity of antioxidant enzymes catalase (17.86%), ascorbate peroxidase (40.43%) and peroxidase (26.32%). Moreover, fungal inoculation increased the levels of minerals K (60.46%), Ca (108.82%) and reduced Cr bioaccumulation in shoots (39.45%) and roots (46.59%). Together, the uncovering of A. niger's involvement in nutrient uptake opens up new avenues for the agricultural application. In chromium-contaminated soil A. niger could be employed for agricultural productivity and ecological restoration.

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