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Research Journal of Microbiology

Year: 2011 | Volume: 6 | Issue: 7 | Page No.: 618-624
DOI: 10.17311/jm.2011.618.624
Efficacy of Azotobacter chroococcum in Rooting and Growth of Eucalyptus camaldulensis Stem Cuttings
A. Karthikeyan and K.M. Sakthivel

Abstract: Eucalyptus camaldulensis Dehn is a commercial tree crop mainly for paper and pulp industries. This tree crop is propagated by vegetative propagation method to obtain genetically superior clones. At the time of vegetative propagation a synthetic rooting hormone Indole Butyric Acid (IBA) is being used in nurseries for successful rooting in E. camaldulensis stem cuttings. To reduce the cost of IBA and improve the rooting and nutrient enrichment as an alternate method a nitrogen fixing bacteria Azotobacter chroococcum was applied in the stem cuttings of E. camaldulensis in present study. The influence of A chroococcum on rooting and subsequent growth of E. camaldulensis cuttings was observed under nursery conditions. An un-inoculated control and IBA treated cuttings were also maintained to compare the growth with A. chroococcum inoculated stem cuttings. Bacterial inoculum (5x107 cfu mL-1 ) at the rate of 5 and 10 mL were applied to the rooting substrate (vermiculite) during cutting installation. Rooting and Biomass was evaluated after 30 days of cutting installation. Additionally, the isolates were screened for their ability to produce Indole Acetic Acid (IAA) under in vitro conditions either in the presence or absence of tryptophan at different concentrations. The results revealed that A. chroococcum produced significant quantities of IAA for root initiation and A. chroococcum inoculated cuttings had higher growth than IBA treated cuttings at p<0.05. From this study, it was concluded that the stem cuttings of E. camaldulensis responded positively to A. chroococcum inoculation through increased root proliferation and growth.

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How to cite this article
A. Karthikeyan and K.M. Sakthivel, 2011. Efficacy of Azotobacter chroococcum in Rooting and Growth of Eucalyptus camaldulensis Stem Cuttings. Research Journal of Microbiology, 6: 618-624.

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