Different genus of bacteria has been reported with the capacity to solubilize phosphorus from phosphate rock (PR).
Pseudomonas
sp., (A18) and
Serratia
sp., (C7) isolated from soils at the “
Departamento de Boyacá
” Colombia, where
Allium cepa
is cultivated. Bacteria were cultured in MT11B media and evaluated as a bio-fertilizer for
A. cepa
germination and growth during two months at greenhouse scale.
Pseudomonas
sp., and
Serratia
sp., cultured at 30 °C, 48 h in SMRS1 agar modified with PR, (as an inorganic source of phosphorus), presented a phosphate solubilization index (SI) of 2.1 ± 0.2 and 2.0 ± 0.3 mm, respectively. During interaction assays no inhibition halos were observed, demonstrating there was no antagonism between them. In MT11B media growth curve (12 h) demonstrated that co-culture can grow in the presence of PR and glucose concentrations 7.5-fold, lower than in SMRS1 media and brewer's yeast hydrolysate; producing phosphatase enzymes with a volumetric activity of 1.3 ± 0.03 PU at 6 h of culture and 0.8 ± 0.04 PU at 12 h. Moreover, co-culture released soluble phosphorus at a rate of 58.1 ± 0.28 mg L
−1
at 8 h and 88.1 ± 0.32 mg L
−1
at 12 h. After five days of evaluation it was observed that germination percentage was greater than 90 % of total evaluated seeds, when placing them in contact with the co-culture in a concentration of 1 × 10
8
CFU mL
−1
. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that co-culture application (10 mL per experimental unit to complete 160 mL in two months) at 8.0 Log
10
CFU mL
−1
twice a week for two months increased
A. cepa
total dry weight (69 ± 13 mg) compared with total dry weight (38 ± 5.0 mg) obtained with the control with water.