Phosphate Solubilizing Bacteria : PSB in Rhizosphere and Non-Rhizosphere soils of Foxtail millet

Phosphorus is an essential and major nutrient for microorganisms and plants. Phosphorus influences plant growth and productivity throughout the world. Also it is an essential component of DNA and RNA in biological systems. Since most of the compounds of phosphorus occurring in nature especially in soils are insoluble, microorganisms, in particular, rhizobacteria play a significant role in the solubilization of these compounds. Hence the present study on phosphate-solubilizing bacteria in the rhizosphere of foxtail millet is essentially concerned with the following aspects: Isolation and enumeration of populations of phosphate-solubilizing bacteria from the rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere soil samples of foxtail millet. Purification and identification of the representative isolates. Estimation of the extent of solubilization by the different isolates of the phosphate-solubilizing bacteria. Seeds of 3 different varieties viz., Chitra, Lepakshi and Prasad were treated with individual inoculation of both bacteria and after 3 days of incubation seeds were sown. Shoot length was observed in respective concentrations i.e., 10-1 to 10-7 dilutions.