2023 Volume 67 Issue 2 Pages 31-37
Biofertilizers containing plant growth–promoting bacteria are gaining interest as a sustainable solution to environmental problems caused by the inappropriate use of chemical compounds. However, the colonization and plant growth–promoting effects of inoculants can be affected by the method of inoculation. Therefore, this study aimed to compare the effects of two inoculation techniques—soil application and root dipping—using a synthetic bacterial community on water yam cv. A-19 growth under growth chamber conditions. Five plant growth–promoting bacteria in the Allorhizobium-Neorhizobium-Pararhizobium-Rhizobium clade that were previously identified as essential core bacteria for water yam growth were used for synthetic bacterial inoculation. Compared with the root dipping technique, inoculation using the soil application technique significantly improved plant growth in terms of leaf number, area, and dry weight as well as SPAD value, suggesting that the soil application technique is an efficient method for bacterial inoculation in yam plants.
