Characterization of potassium solubilizing bacteria (KSB) from rhizosphere soil

Abstract

Thirty bacterial isolates capable of solubilizing potassium were obtained from soil samples. Out of them, 26 were gram positive rods belongs to genera Bacillus and four were gram negative rods belongs to genera Pseudomonas. The isolates were screened for in vitro solubilization and release of potassium. The amount of potassium released ranged from 2.41 to 44.49 μg/ml. Nine isolates released more than 20 μg/ml of K, among which isolate KSB11 recorded the highest K release (44.49 μg/ml) followed by KSB42 (37.07 μg/ml). The isolate KSB11 also showed high organic acid production.