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This study aimed to evaluate the plant growth-promoting potentials of sodium polyacrylate, a superabsorbent polymer, and Micrococcaceae HW-2, a plant-growth-promoting bacteria. A polymer capable of retaining and continuously supplying moisture was selected and PGPR were isolated from the soil and applied to plants growing in dry environments, such as green rooftops. The moisture absorption and retention abilities of polymer were evaluated at 30 °C and on a rooftop, respectively; the polymer showed water retention potential of 11,110 times after 480 h and 100 times after 74 h. Strain HW-2 produced 128.95 mg/L indole-3-acetic acid on day 5 of incubation, and ACC deaminase activity was found to be 0.322% after 72 h. Synthesis of siderophores was detected by the formation of an orange halo around the colonies on CAS medium. Application of the mixture of HW-2 and sodium polyacrylate to Arundo donax, a drought-resistant plant, significantly enhanced shoot growth and biomass.

This study aimed to evaluate the potential plantgrowth promoting effects of potassium polyacrylate, a superabsorbent polymer, and Bacillus sp. SH1RP8, a family of plant-growth-promoting bacteria. Potassium polyacrylate was selected as the polymer for use due to its high molecular weight and its ability to retain and continuously supply moisture. Plant-growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) were isolated from the soil and applied to plants growing in dry environments, such as saline conditions. The moisture absorption and retention abilities of potassium polyacrylate were evaluated at a high temperature (50°C) and in a dry condition, during which time the polymer showed a water retention potential of 19606.07% after 29 days. To overcome the reaming problem in the soil environment, natural polymers (such as cellulose) were mixed with the potassium acrylate. The shoot growths of Peucedanum japonicum Thunb and Arundo donax were significantly enhanced when treated with the mixture of the isolated rhizosphere bacterium SH1RP8 and potassium polyacrylate (63.5 and 124.3%, respectively).

Excess use of chemical fertilizer causes soil acidification and accumulation of salt, and thus might bring to desertification of soil. To overcome this problem, it needs limited usage of chemical fertilizer and increased usage of natural fertilizer as an alternative. In this study, dry soil-borne Bacillus sp. SHL-3, which was isolated from arid and barren soil, with plant growth promoting activity was isolated for identification and to determine optimal culture condition. A bacterial strain SHL-3 had the IAA productivity (5.16 ± 0.10 mg L -1 ), ACC deaminase activity (0.36±0.09 at 51 hours) and siderophore synthesis. It was identified as genus Bacillus sp.. Also, optimal culture condition of SHL-3 were 20°C and pH 7 in LB medium. Bacillus sp. SHL-3 had up to 4% salt tolerance in the medium. We evaluated the plant growth promotion ability of SHL-3 using yam (Dioscorea japonica Thunb.). As a result, Bacillus sp. SHL-3 was effective on the increase of the shoot length (202.4% increase for 91 days). These results indicate that Bacillus sp. SHL-3 can serve as a promising microbial resource for the biofertilizers of soil.

Coastal sand dunes are important for ecosystems due to the variety of rare species that can be found in this kind of habitat, and the beautiful landscapes they create. For environmental remediation, a potential strategy is phytoremediation using the symbiotic relationship of plants and microbes in the rhizosphere, which has proven ecologically sound, safe, and cost effective. Ninety-five colonies were isolated from the rhizosphere soil (RS) or rhizoplane (RP) of Rorippa islandica, Rumex crispus, Artemisia princeps var. orientalis, Lilium sp Stellaria media, and Gramineae. These colonies were then tested for plant growth promoting activities (PGPAs) such as 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) deaminase activity, and siderphores synthesis ability. In addition, salt tolerance was evaluated at 4% and 8% salt concentrations. It was observed that amongst the test subjects about 50% of the strains had a high resistance to salinity. Many of them could produce indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) IAA (in RS 13.9% and in RP 7.6%), exhibited ACC deaminase activity (55.8% in RS and 36.6% in RP), and could synthesize siderphores (62.7% in RS and 50% in RP). Correlation coefficient analyses were carried out for the three kinds of plant growth promoting abilities (PGPA) and salt tolerance. A positive correlation was found between an ability to synthesize siderphores and ACC deaminase activity (r=0.605, p