Mechanisms of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) and mycorrhizae fungi to enhancement of plant growth under salinity stress: A review

Salinity is the major environmental factor limiting plant growth and productivity. Under salinity conditions, plant growth is affected by a number of factors such as hormonal and nutritional imbalance, ion toxicity, physiological disorders, susceptibility to diseases, etc. Plant growth under stress conditions may be enhanced by the application of microbial inoculation including plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) and mycorrhizal fungi. These microbes can promote plant growth by regulating nutritional and hormonal balance, producing plant growth regulators, solubilizing nutrients and inducing resistance against plant pathogens. The present review comprehensively discusses on the effectiveness of PGPR and mycorrhizal fungi for enhancing plant growth under salinity stress. The mechanisms involved in plant salinity tolerance under stress conditions have been discussed at length in this review. Also the review discusses the role of rhizobacteria and mycorrhizae in combination in enhancing plant growth under stress conditions. © 2014 Sjournals. All rights reserved. Review article