Rhizospheric Microflora Escalating Aroma Constituents and Yield Attributes in Ocimum tenuiflorum (L.) cv. CIM-Ayu

Abstract

The exploration of rhizospheric microbial flora for crop yield enhancement is well established. Rhizospheric microbes influence the plant physiology by imparting several beneficial effects, namely, Nitrogen fixation, increased nutrient uptake, and secondary metabolites production on their host plants. The present study investigates the response of Bacillus megaterium ATCC No. 13525, Pseudomonas fluorescens ATCC No. 14581, and Trichoderma viride MTCC No. 167 in alone and combined treatments for their effect on growth and yield parameters in a commercially important Ocimum tenuiflorum L. cv. CIM-Ayu. The plant is therapeutically important for its essential oil constituents, namely, eugenol, β-caryophyllene, and various monoterpenes. The combination treatments, T7 (B. megaterium + P. fluorescens) and T8 (B. megaterium + P. fluorescens + T. viride), showed maximum enhancement (27.27%) of percentage essential oil as compared to untreated control. Nutrient uptake especially N2 content was significantly increased (43%) with the treatment T8 (B. megaterium + P. fluorescens + T. viride). Amongst major essential oil constituents, eugenol content was maximally increased by 58.5% as compared to 42.9% (control) indicating a cumulative role of microbial inoculants for crop yield boost-up.