Evaluation of Bacillus Strains for Plant Growth Promotion and Predictability of Efficacy by In Vitro Physiological Traits

Table 6

Profile of in vitro physiological traits exhibited by Bacillus strains with high and low effectiveness in promoting corn growth as determined in greenhouse pot experiments.

Strain	Antib	Antif	Pro	Bios	Sid	Phos	IAA	Pouch assay	Efficacy on corn
B. megaterium R181	+	+	+	−	+	+	+	+	High
B. safensis R173	−	−	+	+	−	+	+	−
B. safensis R176	−	−	+	+	−	−	+	+
B. simplex R180	−	−	+	−	+	−	−	+
Paenibacillus cineris R177	−	−	−	−	−	+	+	+
P. graminis R200	−	−	−	−	−	−	−	+
Bacillus acidiceler R228	−	−	+	−	−	−	+	+	Low
B. megaterium R232	−	−	+	−	+	+	+	+
B. pumilus R174	−	+	+	+	−	−	−	+
B. pumilus R183	+	+	+	+	−	−	−	−
B. pumilus R190	+	+	+	+	+	−	−	−
Lysinibacillus fusiformis R198	−	−	−	−	−	−	+	+

Antib = antibacterial inhibition; Antif = antifungal inhibition; Pro = protease activity; Bios = biosurfactant production; Sid = siderophore production; Phos = phosphate solubilization; IAA = indole acetic acid; pouch assay = promotion of corn growth in growth pouches. + (shaded) = trait exhibited; − = trait absent. Note. Chitinase and nitrogen fixation results are not shown because these traits were negative for all strains.