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Bioformulation of Microbial Fertilizer Based on Clay and Alginate Encapsulation

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Abstract

This study aims to develop new formulations for microbial fertilizers Pseudomonas fluorescens Ms-01 (Pf) and Azosprillum brasilense DSM1690 (Ab) using two kinds of clay minerals. The studied formulations were prepared as hybrid materials based on halloysite and alginate [Ha-Ag] or montmorillonite and alginate polymers [Mt-Ag] and were applied to the bacterial strains to develop low cost, efficient, and slow-release capsules. Their efficiency was evaluated in comparison with alginate [Ag] as the control. The produced capsules were spherical in shape and were chemically and physically characterized and further analyzed for their swelling ratios, soil biodegradability, release kinetics of microbial cells, and their survival stability over 3 months of storage under different conditions (room temperature vs 4 °C). The effect of the capsules on the growth of wheat plants was also investigated. Results showed that both formulations were able to preserve bacterial survival which reached 14.8 log CFU g−1 after 3 months storage in the halloysite formulation. The swelling ratios were ranged between 61.5 ± 1.35% and 36.5 ± 5% for the montmorillonite and the halloysite formulations, respectively. The release kinetics revealed the slow-release capacity of the capsules mainly with the halloysite formulation which significantly released bacterial cells after 15 days of incubation in saline water (15.24 log CFU mL−1). The application of the capsules to wheat plants significantly increased root and shoot biomasses and nitrogen content in the roots. In conclusion, halloysite minerals seem to be more adapted as additive to alginate in microbial encapsulation.

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Acknowledgements

The Authors would like to acknowledge the support of MAScIR Foundation, special acknowledgements to the members of Green Biotechnology and Composite and nanocomposite laboratories for their support during the accomplishment of experiments, and a huge thanks to Chanda Mutale joan for her precious help in the article revision. The authors thank the journal reviewers for their valuable comments and propositions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Moroccan Foundation of Advanced Science Innovation and Research MAScIR, Department of Green Biotechnology, Rue Mohamed Al Jazouli Madinat Al Irfane, 10100, Rabat, Morocco

    Issam Meftah Kadmiri, Najib El Mernissi & Salah Eddine Azaroual

  2. Moroccan Foundation of Advanced Science Innovation and Research MAScIR, Department of Composite and Nanocomposite, Rue Mohamed Al Jazouli Madinat Al Irfane, 10100, Rabat, Morocco

    Mohamed El Mehdi Mekhzoum, Abou El Kacem Qaiss & Rachid Bouhfid

  3. Microbiome Program, AgroBioSciences, Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, Ben Guerir, Morocco

    Issam Meftah Kadmiri

Authors
  1. Issam Meftah Kadmiri
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  2. Najib El Mernissi
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  3. Salah Eddine Azaroual
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  4. Mohamed El Mehdi Mekhzoum
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  5. Abou El Kacem Qaiss
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  6. Rachid Bouhfid
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Contributions

IMK, RB, and QAEK designed the study and wrote the manuscript, IMK, NE, and SE carried out the experiments related to the bacterial production in broth, release kinetics, and survival assays, RB, QAEK, and MM produced alginate matrices, SEM images, and swelling ratios.

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Correspondence to Issam Meftah Kadmiri or Rachid Bouhfid.

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Meftah Kadmiri, I., El Mernissi, N., Azaroual, S.E. et al. Bioformulation of Microbial Fertilizer Based on Clay and Alginate Encapsulation. Curr Microbiol 78, 86–94 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-020-02262-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-020-02262-2

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