Study on Drought Tolerance of Wheat Seedlings Induced by Plant Root-promoting Bacteria

PurposeTo study the drought tolerance of wheat seedlings treated with plant root-promoting bacteria (PGPR).

MethodCommercial wheat variety ‘Huaimai 33’ seeds were sown and grew in pots. At the tillering stage, the plants were treated with root-promoting bacteria: Bacillus subtilis AR, B. subtilis SM, B. subtilis XY, and combination of the three at AR∶SM∶XY=10∶10∶1. Control groups were treated with water (CK₁) and LB solution (CK₂). The plants were then introduced to drought stress condition for 15 days, and plant morphological and physiological characteristics were tested to evaluate drought-tolerance.

ResultUnder drought stress, the root-shoot ratio, leaf relative water content, chlorophyll content, proline content and root activity of wheat seedlings treated with different root-promoting bacteria were significantly higher than CK, while relative conductivity and malondialdehyde (MDA) content was significantly lower than CK. Our experiments indicated that the enhanced drought tolerance could be achieved by inoculating root-promoting bacteria. The inducement varies among the bacteria tested.

ConclusionWheat seedlings treated with the combination of three PGPR ’s have the strongest drought tolerance.