Growth-Promoting Potential of the Bacterium Herbaspirillum rhizosphaerae on Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) Seedlings

The development of sustainable agriculture requires reducing the chemical load on agricultural ecosystems. One of the possible environmental strategies is to utilize the biopreparations based on plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria. Inoculating early wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) sprouts with the bacterium Herbaspirillum rhizosphaerae UMS-37T resulted in root and shoot elongation and influenced the proline, malonic dialdehyde, and nitric oxide contents, as well as catalase activity in the sprouts, indicative of the induction of plant systemic resistance mechanisms. H. rhizosphaerae strain UMS-37T exhibited fungicidal activity against field strains of mycelial fungi of the genus Fusarium. The results of the present work can be applied for developing environmentally friendly and competitive biopreparations for adaptive agriculture that are capable of activating plant protective systems and controlling the fungal infections of the main agricultural plants.