Efficacy ofMethylobacterium oryzaeSupplementedSargassum wightiiSeaweed Liquid Fertilizer on Chilly and Tomato Plant Growth

Abstract

15Liquid seaweed fertilizer gaining interest due to their use in crop productivity. The present 16 study was designed to evaluate the impact of Methylobacterium oryzae amended liquid 17 seaweed fertilizer on domestic plants like chilly and tomato. The Sargassum wightii 18 methanolic extract was maximum (137 mg/g) among other solvent tested. Extract showed 19 0.456mg/mL, 1.587 mg/mL, 0.78 mg/g, 5.27 mg/g, 0.63 mg/mL, 0.98 mg/mL, 0.285 g/mL 20 and 0.546 µg/mL of total phenolic, total flavonoids, total chlorophyll, total carotenoids, total 21 protein, total carbohydrates, total lipids and total aminoacids respectively. The maximum 22 survival of Methylobacterium oryzae was observed at 40 % of Sargassum wightii SLF extract 23 with 3% Methylobacterium oryzae culture concentration and has viability of 750 × 10 6 CFU/l 24 after 6 months. Impact of foliar sprayed liquid fertilizer on the chlorophyll, internode and 25 shoot length had been promising over seed soaked. 26 Key words: Sargassum Sp.; Seaweed liquid fertilizer; Methylobacterium oryzae; 27 supplementation; pot study; chilly and tomato. 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 Due to population rise and to fulfill the food demand, in order to meet the increasing 41 demand chemical fertilizers are used (Parr et al. 1994). The application of chemical fertilizers 42 leads to soil pollution and health hazards to the living organisms. Chemical fertilizers are 43 quite expensive and this leads to the rise in cost of production. To meet the increasing 44 demand many viable options are available, among this one of such options is seaweed as a 45 fertilizer. The use of seaweed as manure in farming practice is very ancient and was prevalent 46 among the Romans (Galbiattia et al. 2007). The use of seaweeds as bio-fertilizers in 47 horticulture and agriculture has increased in the recent years (Hong et al. 2007). Seaweed 48 liquid fertilizer (SLF) of Sargassum species contains macronutrients, trace elements, organic 49 substance like amino acids and plant growth regulators. 50 For sustainable crop production, plant growth promoting symbiotic and non-symbiotic 51 free-living bacteria are employed as external source of nitrogen (Lugtenberg et al 2009). 52 Methylobacterium suomiense CBMB120, a plant growth promoting (PGP) root and shoot 53 colonizer has been used widely (Kennedy et al. 2004). Many research studies have shown 54 the beneficial effect of seaweeds extracts in stimulating growth of plants (Blunden et al. 55 1993)as it possesses plant nutrients and hormones such as auxins and gibberellins (Wu et al. 56 1997).Several research reports are available on the beneficial effects of seaweed extractsas 57 natural regulators and osmoregulants (Featonby-Smith and VanStaden 1983). 58 Methylobacterium sp. is known for their eco-friendly ability to support plant growth. They 59 can able to grow on a wide range of multi-carbon substrate such as methanol, formate, and 60 formaldehyde to produce plant growth promoting metabolites (Holland 1997).61 Methylobacterium sp. have the pote...

A Possible Synergistic Approach: Case Study of Saccharina latissima Extract and Nitrifying Bacteria in Lettuce

“…Murugan et al [33] investigated the effect of bacterial-algal interaction on plant growth. In this context, the bacteria Methylobacterium oryzae and a methanolic extract of the brown seaweed Sargassum wightii collected on the Palladam coast (India) were utilized in the investigation.…”

“…Free-living bacteria can also be employed as an external nitrogen source for the crop, promoting plant growth [32,33]. For example, Methylobacterium was a bacteria genus known for its eco-friendly ability to improve plant growth through atmospheric nitrogen fixation, phosphate solubilization, and the stimulation of plant growth promoters [33,34]. This bacterium contains an enzyme nitrogenase, which converts atmospheric nitrogen (N 2 ) into ammonia (NH 3 ).…”