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Isolation of Heavy Metal-Tolerant PGPR Strains and Amelioration of Chromium Effect in Wheat in Combination with Biochar

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Abstract

In the present study, detection of heavy metals was carried out in a textile industry soil by ICPOES method. Chromium was the most abundant heavy metal in the examined soil samples and its concentration (95–1180 ppm) exceed the EPA limit. Furthermore, six chromium-tolerant bacterial strains were isolated, most of which belong to Bacillus spp. The maximum tolerance limit of strains was 0.5 ppm for K2Cr2O7. Cr-tolerant strains in consortium were used for the inoculation in combination with biochar. The maximum increase in shoot and root length was (22–23.4%), and maximum increase in chlorophyll and SOD was (28–40%). In the similar way, the proline and sugar contents were improved up to 20.5% and 9.6%, respectively. Significant reduction in Cr uptake was recorded in dry biomass of wheat plants where Cr concentration was 0.28 ± 1.01 mg/kg as compared to control. Hence, according to the findings, PGPR and biochar are an important tool for amelioration of chromium and can be used as inoculums for better plant production.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Botany, PMAS Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan

    Roomina Mazhar, Noshin Ilyas, Muhammad Arshad & Mubashir Hussain

  2. Department of Environmental Science, PMAS Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan

    Azeem Khalid

Authors
  1. Roomina Mazhar
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  2. Noshin Ilyas
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  3. Muhammad Arshad
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  4. Azeem Khalid
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  5. Mubashir Hussain
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Correspondence to Roomina Mazhar or Noshin Ilyas.

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Mazhar, R., Ilyas, N., Arshad, M. et al. Isolation of Heavy Metal-Tolerant PGPR Strains and Amelioration of Chromium Effect in Wheat in Combination with Biochar. Iran J Sci Technol Trans Sci 44, 1–12 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40995-019-00800-7

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