Effects of Phosphate Solubilizing Microorganisms and Phosphorus Chemical Fertilizer on Yield and Yield Components of Barely (Hordeum vulgare L.)

The effect of seed inoculation by phosphate solubilizing microorganisms and different levels of phosphorus chemical fertilizer on yield and yield components of barley (Karoon x Kavir cultivar) was studied in Experimental Farm of College of Agronomy and Animal Sciences, University of Tehran during 2006-2007 growing seasons. The experimental treatments were arranged in split plot factorial based on a complete randomized block design with four replications. Three phosphorus fertilizer levels of 0 (control), 30 and 60 kg/ha were allocated to the main plots and three levels of Phosphate solubilizing bacteria of 0 (control), Pseudomonas petida accessions number 9 and 41 along with two levels of Mycorrhiza: with and without Mycorrhiza (control) were assigned to the subplots in a factorial combination. Sole application of bacteria (accession 9) produced the maximum biological yield, while the application of the same bacteria along with Mycorrhiza achieved the maximum one thousand seed weight. Seed inoculation with sole bacteria positively affected the number of the seeds per kernel. Application of Mycorrhiza along with bacteria significantly increased leaf chlorophyll content. According to the results of this experiment, application of bacteria (accession 41) in absence of any chemical phosphorus fertilizer had an appropriate performance and could increase biomass production to an acceptable level, so it could be considered as a suitable substitute for chemical phosphorous fertilizer in organic agricultural systems.