Alleviating drought stress on Allium cepa mediated by drought-tolerant plant growth-promoting bacteria
This title will be presented on Friday, December 15, 2023 at 09.25-09.35 GMT+7.
Abstract
This title will be presented on Friday, December 15, 2023 at 09.25-09.35 GMT+7.
Drought stress threatens the yield production of shallot (Allium cepa) due to its negative impact on the growth, development, and physiology of the plant. Plant growth-promoting bacteria associated with plants in dry areas are prospective to be utilized as biostimulants in enhancing the tolerance of crops against drought stress. This study aimed to investigate the growth and biochemical responses of shallot by drought-tolerant bacteria inoculation under drought stress. We isolated drought-tolerant bacteria associated with various plants growing in the dry land of East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. Nine drought-tolerant bacteria and a consortium were screened for plant growth-promoting traits characters, growth assay under drought stress in the greenhouse, and biochemical responses. There are no significant effects of bacterial treatment on shallot plant growth after water stress treatment (50% field capacity). However, the bacterial isolates A43-1 and A59-4 displayed the highest plant height at one and two weeks after rehydration, respectively. These isolates were also able to enhance chlorophyll a, total chlorophyll, carotenoid, and total soluble sugar of shallot on water-stressed treatment. Our study revealed that bacterial isolates A43-1 and A59-4 are potential biostimulants to mitigate drought stress on shallot crops.
