Growth enhancement of black pepper (Piper nigrum) by a newly isolated Bacillus tequilensis NII-0943

A Gram positive, rod-shaped potential strain was selected from the pool of bacterial isolates obtained from the Western Ghats forest (India) on the basis of zone of P-solubilization activity. Identification based on 16S rRNA gene sequence revealed that the strain is of Bacillus species, sharing highest sequence similarity to Bacillus tequilensis NRRL B-41771^T (99.5%). Strain NII-0943 was able to produce good amount of indole acetic acid (IAA) and was positive for siderophore production. In addition to IAA and siderophore attributes, strain NII-0943 also possessed the characteristics like Ca₃(PO₄)₂ solubilization and growth in nitrogen-free medium. Seed inoculation with the strain NII-0943 resulted in significantly higher root initiation in black pepper cuttings grown under pots. The contents of nitrogen and phosphorus in both soil and plant were also enhanced significantly in treatments inoculated with these bacterial inocula. Hence, based on this evidence it is proposed that strain NII-0943 could be deployed as a plant growth-promoting inoculant to attain the desired results of bacterization.