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Cyanobacterium-primed Chrysanthemum nursery improves performance of the plant and soil quality

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Abstract

The performance of Anabaena laxa–primed nursery of Chrysanthemum cultivar Jaya was evaluated after transplanting into pots fertilised with two different doses of N fertiliser (urea) as full or 75% N, along with full dose of phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) fertilisers. Enhanced N2-fixation activity and, consequently, several fold higher N availability in soil were recorded in such primed nursery cuttings grown with full or 75% N dose, when compared with controls. The values of soil polysaccharides doubled, while microbial biomass C and proteins showed a 10–50% enhancement in the A. laxa–primed treatments, as compared with only fertiliser-amended treatments. The primed plants increased the soil phospholipid fatty acid content by 60% at 100 days after transplanting (DAT), besides recording 20–40% enhancement in plant growth attributes and shoot: root dry weight ratio, as compared with control plants grown with only fertilisers. Enzyme activity in leaves and flowers was enhanced to the tune of one- to fourfold in the A. laxa–primed plants. In terms of quality traits, early appearance of buds and significantly higher amounts of pigments were recorded in A. laxa–primed plants. Soil chlorophyll, available nutrients and root biofilm formation correlated positively with flowering attributes, including flower diameter, dry weight, anthocyanin and carotenoid content of flowers. The novelty of this study was the observed long-term beneficial effects in terms of improved soil microbiological characteristics and plant growth, which lead to better flower quality traits in Chrysanthemum plants, raised using cyanobacterium-primed nursery.

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Acknowledgments

We wish to acknowledge Post Graduate School and Director, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) - Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) and University Grant Commission (UGC), New Delhi, India, for the Ph.D. programme fellowship to the first author. We extend our gratitude to Shri Gulab Singh, Division of Microbiology, for his technical support in nutrient analyses and sampling, and also to the personnel at the Floriculture nursery for assisting and monitoring the experiment.

Funding

The authors are thankful for receiving financial support from Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) through the Network Project on Microorganisms “Application of Microorganisms in Agricultural and Allied Sectors” (AMAAS) New Delhi and Division of Microbiology for the required facilities.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Microbiology, ICAR - Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, 110012, India

    Asha Bharti, Radha Prasanna, Lata Nain, Anjul Rana & Balasubramanian Ramakrishnan

  2. Division of Floriculture and Landscape Architecture, ICAR - Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, India

    Gunjeet Kumar

  3. Division of Agronomy, ICAR - Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, India

    Yashbir Singh Shivay

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  1. Asha Bharti
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  2. Radha Prasanna
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  3. Gunjeet Kumar
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  6. Balasubramanian Ramakrishnan
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Contributions

AB conducted the trial set-up and experiments and recorded and analysed the scientific data. RP developed the hypothesis and designed and supervised the plan of research while facilitating lab resources, including instrumentation/chemicals and supporting personnel to AB. RP and AB critically interpreted the data and wrote the final manuscript. GK provided plant cuttings and guided in successful establishment of nursery and pot experiments. LN gave valuable inputs in the manuscript preparation and provided various instrumentation facilities to AB. AR assisted in gene quantification of soil samples. BR supervised and provided instrumentation facility for qPCR work. YSS facilitated the nutrient analyses.

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Correspondence to Radha Prasanna.

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Bharti, A., Prasanna, R., Kumar, G. et al. Cyanobacterium-primed Chrysanthemum nursery improves performance of the plant and soil quality. Biol Fertil Soils 57, 89–105 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00374-020-01494-5

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