Inoculation with Selected Microbial Consortia Promotes Growth of Chilli and Basil Seedlings Raised In Pro Trays

Chilli is an important commercial crop with high economic importance and basil is an important medical plant used in ayurvedic medicine with many pharmacological uses. Inoculation of the planting medium with beneficial microbial consortia is an innovative approach to produce healthy and quality seedlings in horticulture. The present investigation was carried out to determine the influence of the two microbial consortia Bacillus sonorensis + Funneliformis mosseae on chilli and Pantoea dispersa + Funneliformis monosporus on basil seedlings (based on earlier studies) grown in pro trays under polyhouse conditions. The plant growth parameters such as length of shoot, stem diameter, biovolume index, plant strength, vigour index, dry weight and nutrient uptake were analyzed 60 days after sowing. The results brought out that the growth of inoculated seedlings was significantly more compared to uninoculated seedlings. It was concluded that inoculating the substrate in pro trays with selected microbial consortia results in producing healthy, vigorously growing chilli and basil seedlings.