Inoculation Effects of Rhizobium and Phosphorous Solubulizing Bacteria on Growth and Nodulation of Acacia nilotica

Restoration and maintenance of soil fertility is a basic but critical ecological problem especially in the tropics where the soils are nutrient deficient particularly P and N. The degraded soils are reclaimed through afforestation programmes with multifarious forest legume tree species along with beneficial microbes. Acacia nilotica, commonly known as Indian Gum-Arabic Tree and locally „Babul‟ is one of the important Nitrogen Fixing Tree (NFT) species belongs to family Fabaceae, sub-family Mimosoideae. This species provides nutritious fodder for livestock, firewood for local people for daily needs and wood for a variety of purposes (Sarra et al., 2005). It is extensively planted in farm lands, wasteland, roadside avenues and is important for afforestation programme. Nitrogen and phosphorous are essential nutrient for plant growth and development. Use of inorganic fertilizers has led to worldwide ecological problems as well as affects the human health. However, biofertilizers offer an alternative to chemical inputs, which have an ability of mobilizing the nutrionally important elements from nonuseable to useable form and known to increase yield. Biofertilizer improve the International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 6 Number 10 (2017) pp. 2444-2453 Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas.com