Effects of Plant Growth-promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR) and Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (AMF) on Morpho-Physiological Parameters of Strawberry cv. Chandler under Different Moisture Levels

Drought stress is one of the challenges that can affect the growth and quality of strawberries. The present study aims to determine the effect of PGPR and AMF on the growth of the strawberry cultivar Chandler under different moisture levels. This study was conducted under polyhouse at the Horticulture Research Center, GBPUA&T, Pantnagar, during 2021-2022 and 2022-23. The experiment was arranged in a factorial CRD design (FCRD) with three replications. The experiment included moisture levels (100% field capacity (FC), 75% FC and 50% FC) and bioinoculants: control (without PGPR or AMF), PGPR, AMF and combination of PGPR+AMF. The results showed that water stress significantly reduced all the growth and biochemical characteristics of leaves. Plants treated with PGPR and AMF either alone or in combination showed higher survival rate of plants as compared to control. The numbers of leaves, petiole length, chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, total chlorophyll and carotenoids were found to increase in all the treatments where bioinoculants were incorporated in the potting media. The increase in chlorophyll content suggests improved photosynthetic efficiency which eventually enhanced stress tolerance of the plants. The use of PGPR and AMF provides a ray of hope for sustainable agricultural cultivation of strawberry particularly in regions affected by water scarcity.