Field inoculation of rice with <i>in vitro</i> selected plant-growth promoting-rhizobacteria

Abstract

&mdash; In a previous study of two Egyptian soils a great diversity of N 2 -fixing bacteria was found in the dominant microflora of the rhizosphere of rice. Under gnotobiotic conditions, strain N040 of Azospirillum brasilense was more efficient than most isolates. N040 was used under field conditions in 2 locations in the Nile delta for inoculating rice at sowing and at transplanting. In both locations, inoculation significantly increased yield (0.01 <P< 0.05). These increases were higher at higher rates of nitrogen fertilization, and reached 15 and 20% at the Sakha and Gemmeiza experimental stations, respectively. Late components of yield were more affected.