New bacteria can increase peanut yield Rajkot News – Times of India

Rajkot: A new bacteria discovered at Saurashtra University not only promises to increase the yield of groundnut crop but also assures better quality crop.
The findings of the Department of Animal Biotechnology have been published in the prestigious international scientific journal “Nature”.
Anand Agricultural University also suggests that lab-grown friendly bacteria can significantly reduce the use of chemical fertilizers in groundnut cultivation and also improve crop yield and soil conditions.
According to the researchers, the main function of this biofertilizer is to maintain the soil condition and prevent the land from becoming barren in the long run. It works like cow dung in agriculture.
Groundnut was chosen because it is a mainstream crop of Saurashtra and the region is one of the highest producers of groundnut in the country. According to the paper, the rhizosphere, a narrow area of ​​soil near plant roots, is a hot spot for microbial activity. The rhizosphere microbiota benefits plants directly or indirectly by supplementing nutrients, producing beneficial chemicals, or suppressing pathogens. Plants attract bacteria within the rhizosphere and control them by releasing exudates.
Plants also select the rhizosphere microbiota based on their needs.
“Plant growth-promoting (PGP) bacteria such as Bacillus were enriched during the middle stages of crop development, but not PGP organisms at the mature crop stage,” said Ramesh Kothari, a professor of microbiology at SU and a co-author of this paper. Overall, this study illustrated changes in the rhizosphere microbiota of groundnut during different developmental stages of the crop and helped to design stage specific bio-strategies such as bio-fertilizers to improve crop yield. Can do.
According to the paper, many studies have looked at the effects of soil type, geographic location, crop genotype, but very few have looked at changes in the microbiome during the crop growth cycle.
Ankit Hinsu, a student of the department who conducted this research in the laboratory, said, “It is good for the soil if we can switch to organic farming by reducing the use of chemical fertilizers as much as possible. For that it is important to know what What type of bacteria to introduce at the level. As the plant grows, the bacteria that help the plants change. We checked the properties of the important bacteria and prepared a mixture and based on this study we suggested that the plant At what level, at what level, in what quantities can the bacteria be mixed to support it.
A sample of the G-20 variety of groundnut, which is mostly grown in Saurashtra, was used for the study.