Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) may provide a biological alternative to fix atmospheric N2 and delay N remobilisation in maize plant to increase crop yield, based on an understanding that plant-N remobilisation is directly correlated to its plant senescence. Thus, four PGPR strains were selected from a series of bacterial strains isolated from maize roots at two locations in Malaysia. The PGPR strains were screened in vitro for their biochemical plant growth-promoting (PGP) abilities and plant growth promotion assays. These strains were identified as Klebsiella sp. Br1, Klebsiella pneumoniae Fr1, Bacillus pumilus S1r1 and Acinetobacter sp. S3r2 and a reference strain used was Bacillus subtilis UPMB10. All the PGPR strains were tested positive for N2 fixation, phosphate solubilisation and auxin production by in vitro tests. In a greenhouse experiment with reduced fertiliser-N input (a third of recommended fertiliser-N rate), the N2 fixation abilities of PGPR in association with maize were determined by 15N isotope dilution technique at two harvests, namely, prior to anthesis (D50) and ear harvest (D65). The results indicated that dry biomass of top, root and ear, total N content and bacterial colonisations in non-rhizosphere, rhizosphere and endosphere of maize roots were influenced by PGPR inoculation. In particular, the plants inoculated with B. pumilus S1r1 generally outperformed those with the other treatments. They produced the highest N2 fixing capacity of 30.5% (262 mg N2 fixed plant−1) and 25.5% (304 mg N2 fixed plant−1) of the total N requirement of maize top at D50 and D65, respectively. N remobilisation and plant senescence in maize were delayed by PGPR inoculation, which is an indicative of greater grain production. This is indicated by significant interactions between PGPR strains and time of harvests for parameters on N uptake and at. % 15Ne of tassel. The phenomenon is also supported by the lower N content in tassels of maize treated with PGPR, namely, B. pumilus S1r1, K. pneumoniae Fr1, B. subtilis UPMB10 and Acinetobacter sp. S3r2 at D65 harvest. This study provides evidence that PGPR inoculation, namely, B. pumilus S1r1 can biologically fix atmospheric N2 and provide an alternative technique, besides plant breeding, to delay N remobilisation in maize plant for higher ear yield (up to 30.9%) with reduced fertiliser-N input.

There are increasing applications of diazotrophic rhizobacteria in the sustainable agriculture system. A field experiment on young immature oil palm was conducted to quantify the uptake of N derived from N2 fixation by the diazotroph Bacillus sphaericus strain UPMB-10, using the 15N isotope dilution method. Eight months after 15N application, young immature oil palms that received 67% of standard N fertilizer application together with B. sphaericus inoculation had significantly lower 15N enrichment than uninoculated palms that received similar N fertilizers. The dilution of labeled N served as a marker for the occurrence of biological N2 fixation. The proportion of N uptake that was derived from the atmosphere was estimated as 63% on the whole plant basis. The inoculation process increased the N and dry matter yields of the palm leaflets and rachis significantly. Field planting of young, immature oil palm in soil inoculated with B. sphaericus UPMB-10 might mitigate inorganic fertilizer-N application through supplementation by biological nitrogen fixation. This could be a new and important source of nitrogen biofertilizer in the early phase of oil palm cultivation in the field.

The potential enhancement of root growth and nodulation in vegetable soybean (AGS190) was studied with application of Azospirillum brasilense (Sp7) and A. lipoferum (CCM3863) co-inoculated with two Bradyrhizobium japonicum strains (TAL102 and UPMR48). Significant root growth stimulation and nodulation were observed in Azospirillum as well as during its co-inoculation with Bradyrhizobium. Nodule formation is linked with the initiation of new roots; nodules were almost absent even in Bradyrhizobium inoculated plant due to the absence of new roots development in clipped rooted seedlings. Total root length, root number, specific root length, root dry matter, root hair development and shoot dry matter were significantly increased by Azospirillum alone and its co-inoculum. Co-inoculated plants significantly influenced the number of nodules and its fresh weight. A. brasilense seemed to perform better in root growth and nodule development compared to A. lipoferum.

Biofertilizer is a relatively safer, environmentally friendly and cost-effective approach as an alternative to reduce chemical fertilizer usage. The selection of bacterial strains with multiple beneficial characteristics are important to maximize the effectiveness on the host plant. Due to aforementioned interest, several Plant Growth-Promoting Rhizobacterial (PGPR) and rhizobial strains were isolated from rice and legume roots, respectively, at four locations in Malaysia namely Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Serdang, Selangor; Besut, Terengganu; Tunjung, Kelantan and Sik, Kedah. Bacterial isolations were undertaken to select the best isolates which exhibit multiple beneficial effects to the rice plant and a total of 205 bacterial strains were isolated and categorized as follows; 94 rhizospheric and 107 endophytic bacteria from rice roots, one rhizobial strain from soybean and three from Mimosa pudica. These isolates were screened for their abilities to fix N 2 and solubilize phosphate; 52 were positive for both tests. The selected isolates were then tested for IAA production and other biochemical tests such as potassium solubilization, hydrolyzing enzymes (cellulase and pectinase) and iron siderophore productions. Four isolates, namely UPMB19 (rhizospheric PGPR from Tunjung, Kelantan), UPMB20 (endophytic PGPR from Besut, Terengganu), UPMR30 (rhizobia from soybean) and UPMR31 (rhizobia from Mimosa) were selected for subsequent plant inoculation tests with UPMB10, a PGPR isolated from oil palm root, as the reference strain. Based on 16S rDNA gene sequencing, these bacterial strains were identified under several genera: Lysinibacillus, Alcaligenes, Bradyrhizobium, Rhizobium and Bacillus, respectively. Results of plant inoculation test indicated that UPMB19 significantly enhanced the seedling height at the early growth stage (7 days after transplanting, DAT) which could be attributed to the higher N 2 fixation rate of this strain as compared to the other strains, except UPMB20. UPMB10 and UPMR31 also showed significant effects with increased seedling height and Total Dry Weight (TDW) at the later stage (14 DAT) possibly due to the higher bacterial population and IAA produced as observed in the residual nutrient solution without addition of fertilizer-N. This study has successfully demonstrated the effectiveness of locally isolated PGPR and rhizobial strains with multiple beneficial characteristics on early growth and vigor of rice seedlings under controlled condition. The result proved to be a vital information in the development of a liquid biofertilizer for rice; thus further studies will be done to evaluate the effectiveness of these isolates under glasshouse and field conditions on growth, tillering and yield of rice.

Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) (e.g., Azospirillum and Bacillus spp.) have been reported to enhance growth and fix N2 with several nonleguminous crops. These rhizobacteria have the potential to be applied to oil palm seedlings and, consequently, reduce the cost of nitrogenous fertilizer. The rhizobacteria are also known as a bioenhancer for the ability to increase root growth and enhanced water and nutrient absorption by the host plants.An experiment was carried out in the field nursery station, Federal Land Development Authorities (FELDA), Bukit Mendi, Pahang, Malaysia, to observe the effects of PGPR inoculation on enhanced nutrient accumulation and plant growth (tops and roots) of oil palm seedlings under field nursery conditions. The inoculation process showed positive response in enhancing higher accumulation of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) in the plant tissues, enhanced root dry weight and top growth (dry matter and leaf chlorophyll content) of the host plants under field nursery conditions.