Abstract
Laboratory, greenhouse, and field experiments were conducted at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa in the 2010/2011 and 2011\2012 seasons to study the effects of eight strains of diazotrophic bacteria on the growth and yield of maize. Maize seeds were treated with Bacillus megaterium (V16), Pseudomonas sp. (StB5, A3, A6, and A61), Burkholderia ambifaria (V9), Enterobacter cloacae (L1) and Pantoea ananatis (LB5), aiming to stimulate plant growth, and maintain or increase yields while reducing the need for N fertilization. All the diazotrophic bacteria increased germination of maize seed, and Pseudomonas sp. (StB5) and B. megaterium (V16) significantly increased shoot length. Pseudomonas sp. (StB5), B. megaterium (V16), E. cloacae (L1), B. ambifaria (V9) and Pseudomonas sp. (A3) very significantly increased root length and seed vigor index. Under greenhouse conditions, plants treated with diazotrophic bacteria developed more leaf chlorophyll and greater dry weight, albeit not significantly (n.s.). In a field trial in 2010/2011, application of the best five diazotrophic bacteria, with or without 33% N-fertilizer, had no significant effect on germination, grain yield, dry weight, plant height and leaf chlorophyll. In the 2011/2012 growing season, at 60 days after planting (DAP), all the diazotrophic bacteria increased plant dry weights to equal that of the fertilized control (33%N-fertilizer)(n.s.). After inoculation with the diazotrophs alone increased plant heights (n.s.), and chlorophyll contents (n.s.). With the addition of 33%N-fertilizer at planting, the diazotrophs still caused increases of chlorophyll content relative to the control with 33%N (n.s.). It may be concluded that the tested diazotrophs alone may be beneficial for use on maize growth.
Abstract from the paper’s OpenAlex record; open copy licensed cc-by. Read at the source ↗
The text the model read, with the source record’s inline markup (italics, sub- and superscripts) rendered and its character entities decoded; quote offsets refer to the raw text.
Claims 9
Claim · model-written summary
All tested diazotrophic bacteria increased maize seed germination.
Zea maysNot reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“All the diazotrophic bacteria increased germination of maize seed”
Claim · model-written summary
Pseudomonas sp. (StB5) significantly increased maize shoot length.
- Treatment
- Pseudomonas sp. (StB5)e0
- Interactor
- Pseudomonas sp. (StB5)
Pseudomonas sp.e0symbiont - Outcome
- shoot lengthe0
- Direction
- increasede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Pseudomonas sp. (StB5) and B. megaterium (V16) significantly increased shoot length”
t0“Maize Growth”
Claim · model-written summary
B. megaterium (V16) significantly increased maize shoot length.
- Treatment
- B. megaterium (V16)e0
- Interactor
- B. megaterium (V16)
Priestia megateriume0symbiont - Outcome
- shoot lengthe0
- Direction
- increasede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Pseudomonas sp. (StB5) and B. megaterium (V16) significantly increased shoot length”
t0“Maize Growth”
Claim · model-written summary
Five diazotroph strains very significantly increased maize root length and seed vigor index.
Not reportedTreatmentComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Pseudomonas sp. (StB5), B. megaterium (V16), E. cloacae (L1), B. ambifaria (V9) and Pseudomonas sp. (A3) very significantly increased root length and seed vigor index”
t0“Maize Growth”
Claim · model-written summary
Greenhouse plants treated with diazotrophic bacteria had greater leaf chlorophyll and dry weight, without significance.
- Treatment
- diazotrophic bacteriae0
- Outcome
- leaf chlorophyll and greater dry weighte0
- Direction
- moree0
- Setting
- greenhouse conditionse0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Under greenhouse conditions, plants treated with diazotrophic bacteria developed more leaf chlorophyll and greater dry weight, albeit not significantly (n.s.)”
t0“Maize Growth”
Claim · model-written summary
The five selected diazotrophs had no significant field effect on germination, grain yield, dry weight, plant height or leaf chlorophyll in 2010/2011.
- Treatment
- application of the best five diazotrophic bacteria, with or without 33% N-fertilizere0
- Outcome
- germination, grain yield, dry weight, plant height and leaf chlorophylle0
- Direction
- no significant effecte0
Not reportedTaxonComparator
Verbatim
e0“In a field trial in 2010/2011, application of the best five diazotrophic bacteria, with or without 33% N-fertilizer, had no significant effect on germination, grain yield, dry weight, plant height and leaf chlorophyll”
Claim · model-written summary
At 60 DAP in 2011/2012, all diazotrophs increased maize dry weight to the fertilized control level without significance.
- Treatment
- diazotrophic bacteriae0
- Outcome
- plant dry weightse0
- Direction
- increasede0
- Comparator
- fertilized control (33%N-fertilizer)e0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“In the 2011/2012 growing season, at 60 days after planting (DAP), all the diazotrophic bacteria increased plant dry weights to equal that of the fertilized control (33%N-fertilizer)(n.s.)”
t0“Maize Growth”
Claim · model-written summary
Diazotroph inoculation alone increased plant height and chlorophyll content without significance.
- Treatment
- inoculation with the diazotrophs alonee0
- Outcome
- plant heights (n.s.), and chlorophyll contentse0
- Direction
- increasede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“After inoculation with the diazotrophs alone increased plant heights (n.s.), and chlorophyll contents (n.s.)”
t0“Maize Growth”
Claim · model-written summary
With 33% N fertilizer, diazotrophs increased chlorophyll content relative to fertilizer alone without significance.
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“With the addition of 33%N-fertilizer at planting, the diazotrophs still caused increases of chlorophyll content relative to the control with 33%N (n.s.)”
t0“Maize Growth”
The same questions in other papers
Pseudomonas · growth · Zea mays (maize)Positive and negative results
21 papers in the same direction as this paper · 1 in the opposite direction
- positive
- negative
- positive
19 papers more in this group
See all 23 papers →Priestia megaterium · growth · Zea mays (maize)Results agree
7 papers in the same direction as this paper
- positive
- positive
- positive
4 papers more in this group
See all 8 papers →inoculation · physiology: pigments · Zea mays (maize)Results differ
84 papers in the same direction as this paper · 9 in the opposite direction · 1 reporting no difference from an alternative
- negative
- no effect
- no effect
91 papers more in this group
See all 95 papers →nitrogen · physiology: pigments · Zea mays (maize)Positive and negative results
13 papers in the same direction as this paper · 112 in the opposite direction
This paper is about lacking the nutrient, so it counts the other way round here.
- positive
- positive
- positive
122 papers more in this group
See all 126 papers →inoculation · growth · Zea mays (maize)Positive and negative results
634 papers in the same direction as this paper · 61 in the opposite direction · 3 reporting no difference from an alternative
- positive
- positive
- positive
695 papers more in this group
See all 699 papers →Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.