International Journal of Farm Sciences

Azospirillum bacteria (Azo-BHU) was isolated from rice roots interior at the heading stage from agricultural farm of Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, UP. Azospirillum colonies were purified and screened along with Azo-IARI (as check) for their plant growth promoting ability on rice. Seeds were coated with the culture of these isolates keeping uncoated seeds as control. Inoculation showed early germination (one day early than control seed of cultivar). The effect of Azospirillum isolates was significantly higher on rice varieties viz BPT-5204, NDR-97, HUR-36, Pankaj, Jaya and Padma with respect to growth characters such as number of tillers/m² area, plant height, grain yield, panicle length, biomass and test weight. It was concluded that with the use of Azospirillum (Azo-BHU) as biofertilizer a sustainable way of rice cultivation can be done without application of high cost and hazardous fertilizers.