Acclimatization of banana plantlets inoculated with Bacillus sp. and irrigated with low-salinity water

Abstract

Plant growth-promoting bacteria emerge as an alternative to attenuate abiotic stresses in plants such as salinity. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of Bacillus sp. strains 186 and 109 on the acclimatization of banana cv. ‘Prata Catarina’ irrigated with saline water. The experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design in a 4 × 2 factorial scheme, with 4 growth-promotion treatments, subjected to 2 levels of electrical conductivity of irrigation water. Irrigation with saline water decreased the number of leaves, leaf area, transpiration rate, stomatal conductance, and CO2 assimilation rate in banana leaves, regardless of inoculation with bacterial strains. The use of Bacillus sp. strain 109 promoted increments in phosphorus and iron contents in banana plants irrigated with low-salinity water.