LAUSR

ABSTRACT Crop production in salty-sodic soils causes poor crop growth due to ion imbalance, water stress, low hormonal and enzymatic balances. The use of rhizobacteria promoting plant growth in saline and sanitary areas (PGPR) is an economical and environmentally friendly approach that increases and eliminates the tolerance of plants to salt. Field experiments were conducted to determine the response of barley, maize and sorghum crop yields to the application of the bacteria (Halobacillus sp), which was preliminarily experimented by a greenhouse study, on two big soil groups (Haplustept and Fluvaquent). The experiment was established with four different treatments; T0 (control-no application), T1 (the gypsum application), T2 (the PGPR application), and T3 (the gypsum + PGPR application) on the high saline and sodic soils in a semi-arid region. The observations of the present study indicate positive impacts of PGPR applications on crop yield and soil productivity. The gypsum + PGPR treatment was the most effective treatment obtaining higher yields owing to significant improvement in the plant photosynthetic activity, chlorophyll content, stomatal conductance, enzymes, hormones, amino and organic acids, and crop-soil productivity. The seed inoculation with the Halobacillus sp bacteria cultures help in alleviation of stress and enhance crop productivity under the short-term gypsum application on Haplustept and Fluvaquent saline-sodic soils.