Insoluble forms of phosphorus (P) may be converted to soluble P by phosphatesolubilizing
organisms living different soil ecosystems to make them available for plant
roots to be absorbed. In this study, isolation of rhizobacteria and screening of their ability
for phosphate solubilization was done. A total of 25 isolates were obtained from upland
rice rhizosphere in Isabela province, Philippines. Measuring the solubilizing efficiency
revealed that seven out of 25 isolates were found to be promising phosphate-solubilizers
showing clearing zone around the colony. Moreover, phosphorus solubilization index (PSI)
of the isolates ranged from 1.25 to 1.60 and results obtained are higher than other
observations indicating that strains of bacteria isolated are effective phosphate-solubilizers.
Furthermore, these PSB could serve as efficient biofertilizer candidates for improving the P
nutrition of the crop. This observation can be a promising contribution to cropping system
of upland rice, which is constrained by drought leading to inefficient P acquisition. If
further developed, this can be eco-friendly and prove to be cost effective strategy to
improve upland rice production particularly in the Philippines.
Keywords
Phosphate-solubilizing bacteria, upland rice, solubilization index, rhizobacteria, isolation and screening
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGY
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