To develop biofertilizers for rice in Afghanistan, 98 plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria were isolated from rice plants and their morphological and physiological characteristics, such as indole-3-acetic acid production, acetylene reduction, phosphate and potassium solubilization, and siderophore production, were evaluated. The genetic diversity of these bacteria was also analyzed based on 16S rRNA gene sequences. Of 98 bacteria, 89.7% produced IAA, 54.0% exhibited nitrogenase activity, and 40% showed phosphate solubilization and siderophore production. Some isolates assigned to Pseudomonas (brassicacearum, chengduensis, plecoglossicida, resinovorans, and straminea) formed a relationship with rice, and P. resinovorans and P. straminea showed nitrogen fixation. Rhizobium borbori and R. rosettiformans showed a relationship with rice plants and nitrogen fixation. Among the isolates examined, AF134 and AF137 belonging to Enterobacter ludwigii and P. putida produced large amounts of IAA (92.3 μg mL-1) and exhibited high nitrogenase activity (647.4 nmol C2H4 h-1), respectively. In the plant growth test, more than 70% of the inoculated isolates showed significantly increased root and shoot dry weights. Highly diverse bacterial isolates showing promising rice growth-promoting traits were obtained from Afghanistan alkaline soils.
Keywords: 16S rRNA; ARA; IAA; PGPR; phosphate and potassium solubilization; rice.