Screening, identification, and characteristics of two phosphate-solubilizing bacteria in the rhizosphere

To screen and isolate bacterial strains with high phosphate solubilizing efficiency from the rice rhizosphere and enrich the resources of these phosphate-solubilizing strains, Pikovskaya (PVK) medium and National Botanical Research Institute’s phosphate (NBRIP) medium were used. The ability of Pediococcus acidilactici 1.11 to dissolve phosphorus was tested. The obtained strains were observed under a scanning electron microscope and identified with 16S rRNA sequencing. The molybdenum-antimony colorimetric method was used to examine the effect of phosphorus dissolution. Two strains, Pseudomonas chlororaphis 1.49 and P. chlororaphis 1.209 were isolated. After culturing the isolated strains 1.49, 1.209, and 1.11 in NBRIP liquid medium for 168 h, the concentrations of the dissolved phosphorus were 109.3, 54.2 and 137.0 mg·L⁻¹, respectively. Therefore, the identified strains were highly efficient phosphate solubilizers and could be used to develop bacterial fertilizer.