Excess nitrate (NO3-) and nitrite (NO2-) in surface waters adversely affect human and environmental health. Bacteria with the ability to remove nitrogen (N) have been isolated to reduce water pollution caused by the excessive use of N fertilizer. To obtain plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) with salt tolerance and NO3--N removal abilities, bacterial strains were isolated from plant rhizosphere soils, their plant growth-promoting effects were evaluated using tomato in plate assays, and their NO3--N removal abilities were tested under different salinity, initial pH, carbon source, and agriculture wastewater conditions. The results obtained showed that among the seven strains examined, five significantly increased the dry weight of tomato plants. Two strains, Pseudomonas stutzeri NRCB010 and Bacillus velezensis NRCB026, showed good plant growth-promoting effects, salinity resistance, and NO3--N removal abilities. The maximum NO3--N removal rates from denitrifying medium were recorded by NRCB010 (90.6%) and NRCB026 (92.0%) at pH 7.0. Higher NO3--N removal rates were achieved using glucose or glycerin as the sole carbon source. The total N (TN) removal rates of NRCB010 and NRCB026 were 90.6 and 66.7% in farmland effluents, respectively, and 79.9 and 81.6% in aquaculture water, respectively. These results demonstrate the potential of NRCB010 and NRCB026 in the development of novel biofertilizers and their use in reducing N pollution in water.
Keywords: N removal; denitrifying bacteria; plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR); salinity resistance.