Exopolysaccharide-producing bacterial cultures of Bacillus cereus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa in soil augment water retention and maize growth.

ABSTRACT: Land productivity in arid and hot climate regions is constrained by water scarcity due to low rainfall and organic matter, which limit both soil-water retention and crop yields. Main objective of this research was to explore the potential of exopolysaccharide (EPS) producing bacteria screened from different soils for enhancing soil-water retention, phosphorus solubilization and maize growth. Twelve soil samples were drawn from diverse ecologies (sub-humid and arid) to isolate EPS-producing bacteria (EPB), and cultured on LB and Pikovskaya media. Nine bacterial strains were found to have EPS production characteristic; among from them, 2 most efficient EPB strains were selected and characterized through morphological, biochemical and molecular standard procedures of bacterial identification.

SUBMITTER: Naseem M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10884437 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature