Ameliorative effects of salt resistance on physiological parameters in the halophyte Salicornia bigelovii torr. with plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria

Salicornia bigelovii is a promising resource to cultivate under extreme climatic conditions of arid-desert regions. However, the production of Salicornia depends on the appropriate supplementation of nitrogen rich synthetic fertilizers. Application of specific halotolerant nitrogen-fixing bacteria associated with S. bigelovii could be an important practice for crop production in salt-affected regions. Seedlings of S. bigelovii were inoculated and developed with plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (Klebsiella pnseumoniae) at different salinities (0 and 0.25 M NaCl) grown under in vitro conditions. The inoculation increased growth and physiological activity at a high salinity. The major benefits of inoculation were observed on total seedlings biomass (320 and 175 g at 0 and 0.25 M NaCl, respectively) and adjacent branches of stem biomass (150 and 85 g at 0 and 0.25 M NaCl, respectively). The inoculation with Klebsiella pneumoniae also significantly improved seedlings salinity tolerance compared to the noninoculated controls. In non-salinity conditions, the inoculated seedlings enhanced the CO2 fixation and O2 evolution. The non-inoculated controls were more sensitive to salinity than inoculated seedlings exposed to salinity, as indicated by several measured parameters. Moreover, inoculated seedlings had significantly increase on proline, phenolics content, but not significant in starch compared to noninoculated controls. In conclusion, K. pneumoniae inoculation mitigates the salinity effects and promotes the Salicornia growth.Keywords: Salicornia bigelovii, Klebsiella pneumoniae, halophyte, ecotype, stress salinity. African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 12(34), pp. 5278-528