Influence of PGPR on growth and yield of oat (Avena sativa L.) under field conditions

India has 15% of the world's livestock population. Currently, livestock rearing for animal goods such as dairy products, meat, eggs, wool and their byproducts, which have become a huge source for livelihood. But insufficient availability of quality fodder affects animal health and productivity. Oat is a unique cereal fodder crop, which is utilized for animal fodder as well as for the human diet. Despite having such potential of the crop, the area and yield are still not much more increasing in India. Concerning this problem, the present investigation was performed in search of potential plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria to enhance the crop growth and productivity of forage oat. During the study, the bacterial isolates were screened for plant growth-promoting properties such as siderophore production, zinc, potassium and phosphate solubilization. Afterward, a field trial was conducted with selected potential bacterial isolates. The results of the study demonstrated that among all bacterial isolates PAU 12 and CHM 7 were performed superior as they improved the green forage, dry matter yield, plant height, grain yield and weight of oat grains. The correlation coefficient analysis also showed that the plant growth-promoting properties proportionally enhanced fodder productivity, seeds yield and other agronomical parameters. Moreover, cluster and principal component analysis also confirmed that among all PGPR, the performance of PAU 12 and CHM 7 was remarkable. The present investigation confirmed the potential of bacterial isolate PAU 12 and CHM 7 and could be utilized with oat as potential bioinoculants to enhance its productivity in an eco-friendly manner.