Synergistic effects of biofertilizer with organic and chemical N sources in improving soil nutrient status and increasing growth and yield of wheat grown under greenhouse conditions

Abstract

Biofertilizers have been identified as value-added soil amendments for improving efficiency of applied fertilizers and increasing soil fertility and crop productivity in sustainable farming system. This study explored the effect of biofertilizer (a mixture of Pseudomonas, Azospirrillium and Agrobacterium strains) supplemented with organic and mineral N fertilizers on soil properties, yield, and NPK uptake of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) grown under greenhouse conditions. The treatments included the application of fertilizer alone or in different combinations with urea N (UN) and/or poultry manure (PM) added at various strengths. Results indicated that most of the growth characteristics were higher in treatments receiving biofertilizer supplemented with ½UN and full PM (200 mg N kg 71 ). However, treatments under full recommended N (200 mg N kg 71 ) or ½UNþfull PM had similar effects. Chlorophyll contents were highest in the full UN treatment, followed by the treatment with ½UNþfullPMþbiofertilizer. The latter significantly increased the yield and yield components of wheat compared to full UN and exhibited superiority over PM. Similarly, NPK uptake in plant shoot was highest in ½UNþfull PMþbiofertilizer compared to full UN or full PM treatments. Furthermore, our results showed that biofertilizer supplemented with PM improved soil properties, such as organic matter, NPK content and concentration of the micronutrients Fe, Mn, Cu and Zn. The application of biofertilizer increased the efficiency of both organic and mineral N fertilizer but alone was ineffective in increasing yield. Thus, biofertilizers could be used as value-added soil amendments by supplementing organic and low chemical fertilizer rates for improving soil fertility and sustaining crop productivity.

Contrasting Impacts of Long-Term Application of Biofertilizers and Organic Manure on Grain Yield of Winter Wheat in North China Plain

“…The treatment CL0 which was composed of only the mineral fertilizer (NPK) provided more grain per spike with an average of 36.0 compared to CL2 of 33.6 which is constituted by a proportional mixture of the mineral fertilizer (NPK) 50% + manure organic + biofertilizer. This was explained by the slow and gradual release of the elements contained in the dose CL2 compared to CL0 the findings supported by the results of [20,26].…”

“…Research [31,42] reported that the grain yield and 1000-grain weight of maize received a half dose of N (102.75 Kg ha −1 ) fertilizer and biofertilizers were 13% and 10% greater than that in treatment with a full dose of N fertilizer (175 kg N ha −1 ), respectively. On the contrary, two studies revealed that biofertilizers and half dose of N fertilizer produced 25% and 17% less in grain yield and 1000-grain weight compared with that received a full dose of N fertilizer [26,38]. In this study, half dose chemical fertilizers (102.5 kg N ha −1 , 86.25 kg P2O5 ha −1 , and 56.25 kg K2O ha −1 ) combined with organic manure and biofertilizers amendments produced 7.0% to 42.5% excessive in grain yield compared with full dose chemical fertilizers and less difference was detected in 1000-grain weight between these treatments among the five growing seasons except for 2017/2018, respectively.…”

“…Application of organic manure can increase soil carbon, improve soil fertility, and obtain similar yield compared with inorganic fertilizer addition [18,23,24]. Research [25,26] reported that the wheat grain yields were comparable in the treatments that received 80 t ha −1 yr −1 of organic manure or 204-252 kg N ha −1 yr −1 chemical N-fertilizers. As for biofertilizers, [27][28][29] reported that application of one biofertilizers obtained from sewage sludge at 7.2 L ha −1 increased maize grain yield by 17% compared with the untreated control and [10,30,31] revealed that biofertilizers amendments reduced inorganic N-fertilizers by 25% without decreasing rice yield in India [32].…”

The Role of Soil Beneficial Bacteria in Wheat Production: A Review

“…Azospirillum-inoculated plants under drought conditions had increased Mg, K and Ca contents compared to non-inoculated plants [62,[114][115][116][117]. The increase in nutrient accumulation/uptake due to biofertilizers/ PGPR was previously reported in wheat [118][119][120]. Sharma et al reported that the majority of 13 tested Pseudomonas spp.…”

Heavy metal accumulation in wheat and barley: The effects of soil presence and liquid manure amendment

“…Besides, plant root exudate contains organic acids, amino acids, sugars and high molecular weight compounds which can affect the solubility and mobility of heavy metals in the rhizosphere (Bacchetta et al 2012). As described in the literature, the mobility of metals in soil can also be influenced by the application of different natural or synthetic additives such as lime, phosphates, organic matter residues, zeolites, beringite and aluminium, manganese and iron oxides (Bolan & Duraisamy 2003;Abbasi & Yousra 2012). According to Ahumada et al (2011), biosolids application reduced the metal content of the residual fraction, with a subsequent increase observed in the acidsoluble fraction which is phytoavailable.…”