Inoculation of plant-growth-promoting rhizobacteria in Myracrodruon urundeuva Allemão supports in tolerance to drought stress

• Main Authors: Douglas Moreira de Oliveira, André Luiz Alves de Lima, Nathália Bandeira Diniz, Carolina Etienne de Rosália e Silva Santos, Sérgio Luiz Ferreira da Silva, Adriano do Nascimento Simões
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2018-01-01
• Series: Journal of Plant Interactions
• Subjects: Aroeira do Sertão tree; Azospirillum lipoferum; semi-arid; oxidative stress; membrane damage; PGPR
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17429145.2018.1432770

This study evaluated the influence of Azospirillum lipoferum on the growth of Myracroduon urundeuva (Anacardiaceae) plants under drought stress, by means of biometric, physical–chemical and biochemical parameters. The association of A. lipoferum with the roots of the plants provided increases of 30% root length, 50% root dry weight, 34% shoot dry weight and 10% soluble protein content. The inoculated plants still maintained 5% higher leaf water potential than those not inoculated and lower membrane damage. Furthermore, the inoculated plants shown less leaf fall and dark green leaves, confirmed by maintenance of the highest levels of chlorophyl a, b and total. On the other hand, superoxide dismutase activity was significantly lower in the inoculated plants, possibly due to the induction of a non-enzymatic protective feature. In this way, the inoculation of PGPR in M. urundeuva can be an alternative for the production of plants that are more tolerant to drought stress.