EFFECTS OF ARTHROBACTER ARILAITENSIS AND PSEUDOMONAS PUTIDA ON SALT STRESS TOLERANCE IN WHEAT

Abstract

Soil salinity is a problem for agricultural production. Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) can increase plant growth under salinity conditions by reducing the stress ethylene level by ACC deaminase activity. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of Arthrobacter arilaitensis and Pseudomonas putida on increasing the growth of wheat under different salt stress conditions. Pot experiments were conducted to determine the effectiveness of A. arilaitensis, and P. putida strains for plant growth of wheat under different salt conditions: 0.95 (control), 3.98, 7.80, and 11.05 dS m(-1) with four replications. Inoculation of A. arilaitensis and P. putida increased membrane stability index (MSI) and carotenoid content of wheat, while malondialdehyde and proline content decreased under different salt stress conditions. A. arilaitensis increased MSI and carotenoid content by 10%, while P. putida increased by 16% and 12%, respectively. Similarly, A. arilaitensis and P. putida applications reduced leaf MDA content by 14% and 16%, respectively. Besides, wheat proline content decreased by 38% with inoculation of A. arilaitensis and 33% with P. putida. The results obtained show that A. arilaitensis and P. putida isolates reduce the harmful effects of salinity stress and can be used as biological inoculum to reduce the harmful effects caused by salinity.