Bacterization of forage grass seeds: Influence on spreading and growth of plants.
Inoculation of seeds before sowing of growth-stimulating microorganisms is an effective method for increasing the productivity of crops and forage grasses, in particular. In this work, nine strains of bacteria were tested for their ability to produce the phytohormone indolyl-3-acetic acid (IAA) and stimulate seed germination and elongation of shoots and roots of seedlings of mogar, sudanese grass, awnless brome, alfalfa, and meadow fescue. The highest IAA concentration in the culture liquid was found in the strains Enterobacter ludwigii BLK and Pseudomonas sp. UOM 10 (2001 and 1617 ng/ml, respectively), and the lowest was in Pseudomonas sp. 5GCH and P. koreensis IB-4 (144 and 141 ng/ml, respectively), however, at this stage of research, a direct relationship between the level of phytohormone synthesis and the ability of bacteria to positively affect plant growth was not found. The plants were characterized by the species specificity of the reaction to bacterial treatment, with the exception of the Pseudomonas sp. 5GCH, which in some cases had a positive effect on seed germination, but did not enhance the growth of roots and shoots in the studied herbs. Synchronous stimulation of seed germination and an increase in the length of shoots and roots was observed on mogar plants upon inoculation with E. ludwigii BLK and P. plecoglossicida CH5-2 and on an awnless brome (P. chlororaphis 4CH, B. vietnamiensis 8CH, E. ludwigii BLK, P. laurentiana ANT 17 and P. plecoglossicida CH5-2). None of the strains simultaneously increased the length of shoots and roots in Sudanese grass and meadow fescue, but most microorganisms enhanced seed germination in them. Bacterization did not increase germination in alfalfa, and only Pseudomonas sp. UOM 10 and P. koreensis IB-4 promoted the growth of its shoots and roots.