Isolation of Endophytic Bacteria from Cavendish Banana pseudostem (Musa acuminata) and Plant Growth Promoting Characterization

Banana endophytic bacteria have many plant growth promoting activities and the enhanced influences based on the capable of endophytic colonization. Previous studies have mainly focused on endophytic bacteria in banana leaves, roots and shoots. This study aimed to evaluate the potential application of endophytic bacteria isolated from pseudostem of Cavendish banana. Eighteen endophytic bacterial isolates were collected from eight pseudostem samples. The tests showed that the indigenous endophytic bacteria, depending on the isolate, could dissolve insoluble inorganic minerals, produce extracellular hydrolytic enzymes, produce indole-3-acetic acid, fix nitrogen and control Phyllosticta sp. and Fusarium sp. Preliminary safety tests showed that one isolate did not exhibit hemolytic activity. Many isolates were compatible with each other, especially four strains including TC4.1, TC5.1, TC6.2 and TD7.1 were compatible with all remaining isolate and suitable for developing multi-strain products. Growth curves indicated that two isolates, TD7.2 and LA7.4, peaked at 16 and 18 hours respectively. The results showed that these endophytic bacteria have many potential activities. However, other plant growth promoting activities should be assessed in order to have potential applications as well as to exploit these bacteria.