Abstract
Sustainable agronomic practices are tried all over the world to promote
safe and eco-friendly crop production. Therefore, in the present study,
the effect of seed endophytic bacteria and its consortia on soil
biochemical property, soil nutrient and yield of chickpea (Cicer
arietinum L.) under field and pot conditions are investigated. Both the
experimental results proved a significant increase in total soil organic
carbon (OC), electric conductivity (EC), organic matter (OM), soil
nutrient like available N, P and K content and important soil enzymes
like dehydrogenase (DHA), beta glucosidase, alkaline phosphate and
urease was observed under the Enterobacter hormaechei BHUJPCS-15
(T1), Enterobacter cloacae BHUJPCS-21 (T2) and combined T3
(consortia of T1 and T2) treatments. Similarly, a significant increase
in the grain yield (27-45% and 57-73%) in microbial treatment was
found in pot and field experiment, respectively than control. In
addition, whereas the higher plant biomass (14-38% and 42-78%) was
recorded in treated plant over the control plant. Similarly, the plant
photosynthetic pigment (Chl a, b, total Chl) were also increased in
microbial treated plant than the control untreated chickpea plant. Our
present study highlights the significance of sustainable agronomic
practices for improving the soil quality and agricultural yield while
reducing adverse impacts of chemicals by the use of seed endophytic
microbes and its consortia.