• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.37-42
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• 2012

Improvement of plant growth by Methylotrophic bacteria can be influenced through alterations in growth modulating enzymes or hormones, especially by decreasing ethylene levels enzymatically by 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC) deaminase or by production of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA). In this study, the effect of seven strains of Methylobacterium on seedling ethylene emission of tomato and red pepper plants was evaluated under greenhouse condition. Ethylene emission was lowest in Methylobacterium oryzae CBMB20 inoculated tomato plants and CBMB110 inoculated red pepper plants at 47 days after sowing (DAS). However, at 58 DAS all inoculated plants showed almost similar pattern of ethylene emission. Methylobacterium inoculated tomato and red pepper plants showed significantly less ethylene emission compared to control. Our results demonstrated that Methylobacterium spp. inoculation promotes plant growth due to the reduction of ethylene emission and therefore can be potentially used in sustainable agriculture production systems.