Inoculation of Klebsiella variicola Alleviated Salt Stress and Improved Growth and Nutrients in Wheat and Maize

Although wheat and maize are the major economically important cereal crops and staple food sources in the world, their productivity is highly affected by excess salts in soil (salinity). Applications of multifarious halophilic plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) in saline soil protect the plants from osmotic damages and promote plant growth through the secretion of plant growth promoting (PGP) and osmolytes. In this study, Klebsiella variicola SURYA6—a PGPR—was evaluated for plant-growth-promotion and salinity amelioration in wheat and maize, and enrichment of soil nutrients. The results of the present study revealed that K. variicola SURYA6 grows luxuriously under high salinity stress conditions and produces copious amounts of three principal salinity ameliorating traits, such as 1 aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate deaminase (ACCD), indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), exopolysaccharides (EPS), and osmolytes—such as proline, sugars, proteins, and amino acids. The isolate also exhibited sensitivity to a wide range of antibiotics, lack of hemolytic ability, and absence of catalase and oxidase activities confirming its nonpathogenic nature. Inoculation of wheat and maize seeds with this multifarious strain, improved the physicochemical properties of soil, improved seed germination by 33.9% and 36.0%, root length by 111.0%, 35.1%, shoot height by 64.8% and 78.9%, and chlorophyll content by 68.4% and 66.7% in wheat and maize seedlings, respectively, at 45 days after sowing (DAS) under salinity stress. The improvement in plant growth can be correlated with the secretion of PGP traits and improved, uptake of minerals such as nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), sodium (Na), potassium (K), and magnesium (Mg). While amelioration of salinity can be the result of secretion of osmolytes and the change in pH from salinity to neutrality. This inoculation also significantly improved the soil nutrients under salinity stress conditions. Inoculation of K. variicola SURYA6, resulted in more improved growth and nutrients contents in plants and enriched soil nutrients under salinity stress as compared to normal (non-saline) conditions. Such multifarious strain can serve as a potent bio-inoculant for growth promotion of wheat and maize in saline soil. However, multi-year field trials under different agro-climatic conditions are required to confirm the bio-efficacy of K. variicola SURYA6.