SWATI SINDHU*, MONIKA JANGRA, BASANTI BRAR AND RAJESH GERA
Department of Microbiology, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar-125 004 (Haryana), India
*(e-mail : swati3357@gmail.com; Mobile : 9416375987)
(Received : September 27, 2019; Accepted : November 22, 2019)
ABSTRACT
Rhizobium is known as a primary symbiotic fixer of nitrogen. The present study was focused on salt tolerance activity of Rhizobium sp. Rhizobia were isolated from the root nodules of chickpea crop from hyper-arid regions of Rajasthan. A total of 52 rhizobial isolates were characterized for salinity tolerance in yeast extract mannitol (YEM) broth medium. For salt tolerance activity, YEM broths were supplemented with different concentrations of NaCl (100, 200, 300, 400 and 500 mM). Among all the isolates, maximum growth (0.974 OD) was observed in rhizobial isolate CPR57C (0.974 OD) followed by CPR61A (0.841 OD) and CPR27A (0.797 OD) even at 500 mM NaCl concentration. Therefore, these isolates may be useful for improved growth and production of leguminous plants under salinity prone conditions.
Key words : Abiotic stress, rhizobia, chickpea, salinity