High-density planting can increase crop productivity per unit area of cultivated land. However, the application of this technology is limited by the inhibition of plant growth in the presence of neighbors, which is not only due to their competition for resources but is also caused by growth regulators. Specifically, the abscisic acid (ABA) accumulated in plants under increased density of planting has been shown to inhibit their growth.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFstrain IB-Ki14 has recently been shown to strengthen the apoplastic barriers of salt-stressed plants, which prevents the entry of toxic sodium. It was of interest to find out whether the same effect manifests itself in the absence of salinity and how this affects the hydraulic conductivity of barley plants. Berberine staining confirmed that the bacterial treatment enhanced the deposition of lignin and suberin and formation of Casparian bands in the roots of barley plants.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAn ABA-deficient barley mutant (Az34) and its parental cultivar (Steptoe) were compared. Plants of salt-stressed Az34 (100 mmol m NaCl for 10 days) grown in sand were 40% smaller than those of "Steptoe", exhibited a lower leaf relative water content and lower ABA concentrations. Rhizosphere inoculation with IB22 increased plant growth of both genotypes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlthough salinity inhibits plant growth, application of appropriate rhizosphere bacteria can diminish this negative effect. We studied one possible mechanism that may underlie this beneficial response. Wheat plants were inoculated with IB-22 and IB-Ki14 and their consequences for growth, water relations, and concentrations of the hormone abscisic acid (ABA) were followed in the presence of soil salinity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPhytohormone production is one mechanism by which rhizobacteria can stimulate plant growth, but it is not clear whether the bacteria gain from this mechanism. The hypothesis that microbial-derived cytokinin phytohormones stimulate root exudation of amino acids was tested. The rhizosphere of wheat plants was drenched with the synthetic cytokinin trans-zeatin or inoculated with Bacillus subtilis IB-22 (which produces zeatin type cytokinins) or B.
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