Performance Evaluation of Native Plant Growth-Promoting Bacteria Associated with Organic Tea Plantations for Development of Bioinoculants for Crop Plants.

This study aimed at isolation of native plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) associated with organic tea plantations. Most research on tea and associated microbes have been on Darjeeling and Assam, known for their world-class tea. However, emerging tea plantations in remote Northeast India are gaining prominence due to their unique geographical location, favorable climate, and organic practices. This study investigated PGBP associated with these organic tea plantations, aimed to assess their potential cross-infectivity on non-host plants. A total of 58 PGP bacterial isolates were isolated from four organic tea plantations. Six potential isolates were further evaluated individually and as consortium for their PGP on rice and maize. Bacillus, Pseudomonas, and Serratia spp. as individual and in consortium were found to have potent cross-infectivity with significant growth promotion in non-host plants indicated by plant height, root length, shoot, and root weight. The present findings suggest that PGPB native to organic tea plantations have potential cross-infectivity for use as a biofertilizers to improve the growth and productivity of non-host crops. This provides prospectives of using native bacteria on non-host plants paving the way for their potential application in sustainable agriculture practices for growth promotion of staple food crops.