Enhancing Teak (Tectona grandis) Seedling Growth by Rhizosphere Microbes: A Sustainable Way to Optimize Agroforestry

Abstract

With its premium wood quality and resistance to pests, teak is a valuable tree species remarkably required for timber trading and agroforestry. The nursery stage of teak plantation needs critical care to warrant its long-term productivity. This study aimed to search for beneficial teak rhizosphere microbes and assess their teak-growth-promoting potentials during nursery stock preparation. Three teak rhizosphere/root-associated microbes, including two teak rhizobacteria (a nitrogen-fixing teak root endophyte-Agrobacterium sp. CGC-5 and a teak rhizosphere actinobacterium-Kitasatospora sp. TCM1-050) and an arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus (Claroideoglomus sp. PBT03), were isolated and used in this study. Both teak rhizobacteria could produce in vitro phytohormones (auxins) and catalase. With the pot-scale assessments, applying these rhizosphere microbes in the form of consortia offered better teak-growth-promoting activities than the individual applications, supported by significantly increased teak seedling biomass. Moreover, teak-growth-promoting roles of the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus were highly dependent upon the support by other teak rhizobacteria. Based on our findings, establishing the synergistic interactions between beneficial rhizosphere microbes and teak roots was a promising sustainable strategy to enhance teak growth and development at the nursery stage and reduce chemical inputs in agroforestry.

Functional characterization and molecular fingerprinting of potential phosphate solubilizing bacterial candidates from Shisham rhizosphere

“…Isolated bacterial strains were related to genus Streptomyces, Pseudomonas , Klebsiella, Staphylococcus, Kitasatospora, Pantoea, and Micrococcus. Several members within these genera are identified for exhibiting plant growth promoting ability, P solubilizing and biocontrol properties for example: Pantoea, Pseudomonas and Streptomyces 61 , Klebsiella and Micrococcus 62 , 63 , Kitasatospora reported for resistance to pest attack and growth promotion in Teak ( Tectonagrandis ), which is a valuable tree species 64 .…”

Use of Trichoderma in the Production of Forest Seedlings

“…In contrast, each species presents specific characteristics and responses to interaction promoting additive/synergistic or antagonistic effects [ 77 , 116 ]. The beneficial effects of co-inoculation are observed in improvements of germination, vigor, root morphogenesis, photosynthetic capacity, and high biomass indexes, as well as enabling soil maintenance and ecological balance [ 117 , 118 ].…”

Improving Tree Seedling Quality Using Humates Combined with Bacteria to Address Decarbonization Challenges through Forest Restoration

“…It is well known that rhizosphere bacteria [ 10 , 11 , 12 ], as well as humic substances [ 13 , 14 , 15 ], stimulate plant growth when used individually. Although much less is known about their effect on trees than on herbaceous plants, it has been found that both humates [ 16 , 17 ] and rhizosphere bacteria [ 18 , 19 ] enhance the growth of woody plants. However, only a few studies have addressed the simultaneous application of these biostimulants.…”