• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.506-513
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• 2010

Plant growth promoting ability of Methylobacterium oryzae CBMB20 was evaluated under different levels of organic fertilizer application on red pepper plants in a pot experiment. Oil cake as an organic N fertilizer was applied at the rates of 70, 85, 100 and 120% of the conventional recommended level. Each treatment was further treated with or without M. oryzae CBMB20 inoculation. The recommended amount of compost for red pepper was added in all the treatments. Results revealed that plant height, dry biomass and fruit yield were enhanced in increasing order as the rate of fertilization increased. Overall plant growth was improved due to the inoculation of M. oryzae CBMB20 and red pepper fruit yield was also increased by 10-35% in the plants inoculated with M. oryzae CBMB20 at different rates of organic fert1izer application. Total methylotrophic bacterial population in rhizosphere soil measured at the time of harvest was significantly higher in M. oryzae CBMB20 inoculated treatments. The growth promoting effect of M. oryzae CBMB20 found in red pepper could be due to the effective colonization of the bacteria in the rhizosphere and its ability of enhancing nutrient availability and producing plant growth hormones. With the plant growth promoting effect of M. oryzae CBMB20, the rate of organic fertilizer application can be reduced without any significant decreases in biomass production and yield of red pepper.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.514-521
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• 2010

Fertilizers, plant growth promoting microbes and plant growth regulators should be combined together and used in order to achieve a maximal plant growth and yield in modern sustainable and ecological agricultural systems. In this study rhizosphere inoculation of Methylobacterium oryzae CBMB20 and foliar application of methanol were tested for their ability to promote the growth of red pepper plant at different levels of organic fertilizer. Rhizosphere inoculation of M. oryzae CBMB20 and foliar spray of methanol could promote red pepper plant growth and yield, and the growth promoting effect induced by the combined treatment of M. oryzae CBMB20 inoculation and foliar spray of methanol was more distinctive. This result suggests that a synergistic growth promoting effect of methanol spray and M. oryzae CBMB20 inoculation can be obtained in the combined treatment of the two growth promoting factors. The growth promoting effect was more significant in the lower fertilization rate, and the plant growth was not significantly different between 100 and 300% fertilizer treatments where both M. oryzae CBMB20 inoculation and foliar spray of methanol were included. This result indicates that, with the plant growth promoting effect of M. oryzae CBMB20 and methanol, fertilizer application rate can be profoundly reduced without any significant decreases in biomass accumulation and yield of crops.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2014

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of single and co-inoculation of plant growth promoting bacteria (PGPB) on early plant growth in Saemangeum reclaimed soil. Plant growth promoting Brevibacterium iodinum RS16 and Methylobacterium oryzae CBMB20 were inoculated on maize (Zea mays L.) and sorghum-sudangrass hybrid (Sorghum bicolor L.) grown in Saemangeum reclaimed soil. Single and co-inoculation of B. iodinum RS16 and M. oryzae CBMB20 increased plant height, dry biomass accumulation and macro-nutrient accumulation of maize and sorghum-sudangrass hybrid. M. oryzae CBMB20 treatment increased plant height in maize by 41.2% at 30 days after sowing (DAS), shoot dry weight and total dry weight compared to non-inoculated treatment. Macro-nutrient accumulation (N and P) in maize roots was significantly increased with co-inoculation treatment, K and Ca content was significantly increased at B. iodinum RS16 treatment compared to non-inoculated treatment. Macro-nutrient accumulation (P, K, Ca and Mg) in shoot was higher with M. oryzae CBMB20 treatment compared to non-inoculated treatment. In case of sorghum-sudangrass hybrid, co-inoculation treatment showed 33.7% increase in plant height compared to non-inoculated treatment at 30 DAS. M. oryzae CBMB20 treatment increased root dry weight and total dry weight, macro-nutrient accumulation in roots and N, Ca and Mg accumulation in shoot compared to non-inoculated treatment. P and K accumulation in shoot was significantly increased at co-inoculation treatment compared to non-inoculated treatment. This pot culture experiment demonstrated that single and co-inoculation of B. iodinum RS16 and M. oryzae CBMB20 increased the early growth and nutrient accumulation of maize and sorghum-sudangrass hybrid.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.54 no.2
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• pp.120-125
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• 2011

In order to exploit Methylobacterium oryzae CBMB20 as of plant growth promoting agent, different inoculation methods have been evaluated. The present study aimed to evaluate soil, foliar, and soil+foliar inoculations of M. oryzae CBMB20 to improve the growth, fruit yield, and nutrient uptake of red pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) under greenhouse conditions. The population range of green fluorescent protein (gfp)-tagged M. oryzae CBMB20 using the three inoculation methods was 2.5-2.9 ${\log}_{10}$ cfu/g in the rhizosphere and 4.5-6.0 ${\log}_{10}$ cfu/g in the phyllosphere of red pepper plants. Confocal laser scanning microscopy results confirmed the colonization of M. oryzae CBMB20 endophytically on leaf surface. Plant height, fruit dry weight, and total biomass were significantly higher ($p{\leq}0.05$) in all M. oryzae CBMB20 inoculation methods as compared to non-inoculated control. Furthermore, uptake of mineral nutrients such as N, P, K, Ca, and Mg in red pepper plants in all M. oryzae CBMB20 inoculation methods was higher than in non-inoculated control. Comparative results of inoculation methods clearly demonstrated that soil+foliar inoculation of M. oryzae CBMB20 lead to the highest biomass accumulation and nutrient uptake which may be due to its efficient colonization in the red pepper rhizosphere and phyllosphere.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.522-527
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• 2010

Gibberellic acid ($CA_3$) is used in many industries and constitutes the primary gibberellins produced by fungi and bacteria. However, there is no information on $CA_3$ production by Methylobacterium oryzae CBMB20, a novel plant growth promoting bacterium. We investigated the favorable carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) sources and ratios and cultural conditions, such as incubation temperature, pH of the culture medium, and incubation period for the maximum production of $CA_3$ by Methylobacterium oryzae CBMB20. Maximum $CA_3$ production was observed in ammonium mineral salt (AMS) broth supplemented with Na-succinate and $NH_4Cl$ as C and N sources, respectively. The maximum $CA_3$ production was found at the C/N ratio of 5:0.4 g $L^{-1}$. The highest $CA_3$ production was obtained when the bacterial culture was incubated at $30^{\circ}C$ for 96 h at pH 7.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.317-322
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• 2009

Healthy seedling generation is the major concern in overcoming adverse effects of biotic and abiotic stresses during tender stage of development in vegetables and horticultural crops. Because of this, priority is given to research leading to the generation of healthy seedlings in crops subjected to transplanting and bedding. In this study, growth pouch experiments were conducted to determine the effect of inoculation of six different strains of Methylobacterium sp. namely, M. oryzae CBMB20, M. phyllosphaerae CBMB27, M. suomiense CBMB120, and Methylobacterium strains CBMB12, CBMB15 and CBMB17 on the seedling development of the vegetable crops cabbage, Chinese cabbage and cucumber; and horticultural crops tomato and red pepper. Crops treated with the test strains generally showed higher seedling dry matter accumulation compared to the control. Significantly higher accumulation was exhibited by CBMB12, CBMB17, and CBMB20 in cabbage, as well as for CBMB27 and CBMB120 on tomato and Chinese cabbage, respectively. Furthermore, all the strains promoted root elongation in cucumber and tomato seedlings while in Chinese cabbage and red pepper, root elongation was observed with CBMB120 and CBMB12 inoculation, respectively. Large scale nursery study is needed to develop a thorough protocol for healthy seedling development with the use of these strains.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.51-58
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• 2012

Salinity is one of the most relevant abiotic factor limiting crop yield and its net primary productivity. In addition, salinity induces an increased stress ethylene synthesis in plants which, in turn, exacerbate the responses to the stressor. Bacterial single or co-inoculation effect was tested using previously characterized plant growth promoting (PGP) bacteria Brevibacterium iodinum RS16 and Methylobacterium oryzae CBMB20 on maize and sorghum-sudan grass hybrid under different concentrations of NaCl. Non-inoculated maize and sorghum-sudangrass hybrid showed 33.4% and 20.0% reduction in seed germination under highest NaCl (150 mM) level tested. However, under the same NaCl concentration, co-inoculation with B. iodinum RS16 and M. oryzae CBMB20 PGP strains increased the seed germination in maize (16.7%) and sorghum-sudangrass hybrid (4.4%). In Gnotobiotic growth pouch experiments conducted for maize and sorghum-sudangrass hybrid, co-inoculation of PGP B. iodinum RS16 and M. oryzae CBMB20 mitigated the salinity stress and promoted root length by 22.9% and 29.7%, respectively. Thus the results of this study could help in development of potential bioinoculants that may be suitable for crop production under saline conditions.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.223-228
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• 2011

BACKGROUND: Rhizosphere bacteria may improve plant growth and productivity both by supply nutrients and hormonal stimulation. Although many experiments have shown improvements in plant growth with inoculation of bacterial cultures to the rhizosphere, the main obstacle in the applications of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria in a large scale is the inconsistency of the results. We tested the growth promoting effects of Azospirillum and Methylobacterium strains on red pepper plant. METHODS AND RESULTS: Red pepper seedlings were grown for 25 days in a growth media inoculated with A. brasilense CW903 or M. oryzae CBMB20. The seedlings were transplanted and grown for 45 days in pots with soil in a greenhouse, at half the recommended level of fertilizer. Bacterial culture, $4.0{\times}10^9$ for A. brasilense CW903 and $5.8{\times}10^8$ CFU for M. oryzae CBMB20, was applied in root zone soil periodically every 10 days during the experiment. Inoculation of M. oryzae CBMB20 significantly increased the red pepper plant growth in terms of leaf number, height and mass of shoot, or root mass compared to uninoculated control plants. Although beneficial effects of A. brasilense on plant growth of many crops were observed, the growthpromoting effect of A. brasilense CW903 on red pepper plant was not found in this study. CONCLUSION(s): The factors responsible for the irregularities in plant growth promoting of rhizobacteria are difficult to elucidate. Extensive inoculation experiments in the greenhouse and in the field should enable us to define the factors critical to obtain successful application of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.59-65
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• 2012

Plant growth-promoting effects of rhizobacterial inoculation obtained in pot experiments cannot always be dependably reproduced in fields. In this study, we investigated the effect of inoculation with Azospirillum brasilense and Methylobacterium oryzae, which have displayed growth promoting effects in several pot experiments, on growth and fruit yield of red pepper under field condition in a plastic-film house. Four rows spaced 90 cm apart were prepared after application of compost ($10Mg\;ha^{-1}$), and red pepper seedlings (Capsicum annum L., Nocgwang) were transplanted in each row with 40-cm space. Experimental treatments were consisted of A. brasilense CW903 inoculation, M. oryzae CBMB20 inoculation, and uninoculated control. Twelve plots, 10 plants per plot, were allotted to the three treatments with four replicates in a completely randomized design. At the time of transplanting, 50 mL of each inoculum ($1{\times}10^8cells\;mL^{-1}$) was introduced into root zone soil of each plant, and re-inoculated at 7 and 14 days after transplant. Plant growth and fruit yield were measured during the experiment. Both A. brasilense CW903 and M. oryzae CBMB20 could not promote growth of red pepper plants. All growth parameters measured were not significantly different among treatments. There were large variations in fruit yield recorded on plot basis, and no statistically significant differences were found among treatments. The failure to demonstrate the expected plant growth promoting effect of the inoculants is possibly due to various environmental factors, including weather and soil characteristics, reducing the possibility to express the potential of the inoculated bacterial strains.

• 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.