Journal of Plant Process and Function

Salinity is one of the most important abiotic stresses that reduces the growth and development of wheat. Reducing the effects of salinity with the help of plant growth-promoting rhizosphere bacteria has been considered by researchers as an environmentally friendly solution. In the present study, some physiological responses of wheat cultivar of Narin to salinity-resistant growth-promoting bacteria isolated from the rhizosphere of salt-tolerant plants) Atriplex lentiformis, Tamarix ramosissim, Seidlitzia rosmarinus, Halostachys belangeriana) were investigated. Wheat seeds after inoculation with the identified bacteria (Bacillus safensis, B. pumilus and Zhihengliuella halotolerans) were planted in pots and irrigated with saline water of 0.2 (control), 4, 8 and 16 dS/m. The results showed all isolated bacteria had the ability to produce auxin, siderophore, hydrogen cyanide, 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid deaminase (ACC deaminase) and phosphate solubility.With increasing salinity, chlorophyll content decreased in all treatments compared to the control. The use of bacteria increased 21 to 92.6 to 175 and 21 to 52% of chlorophyll a, b and total chlorophyll content among salinity treatments, respectively. Increased salinity raissed content of proline (136-136%), total phenol (11-92.5%), free radical scavenging capacity (12.5-89%) and total soluble sugars (7.5-1.5%) in salinity treatments inoculated with bacteria compared to the control. The growth-promoting bacteria in this study improved wheat resistance to salinity stress. Improving the physiological conditions of plant under the positive effect of bacteria eventually increased the plant biomass, in which the role of B. safensis was more than the other two bacteria. The results of this study showed that the plant growth-promoting bacteria of halophytic rangeland plants can play a role in improving the growth indices of wheat plants in saline conditions.