Development of Pink Pigmented Facultative Methylotrophs’ (PPFMs) Consortium Formulation and Its Efficacy on Chilli (Capsicum annuum)

This research aims to investigate the potential effect of Pink Pigmented Facultative Methylotrophs (PPFMs) as foliar application to enhance growth parameters of chiili crop. The laboratory and pot studies were conducted at Department of Agricultural Microbiology, Anand Agricultural University, Anand. The PPFMs were isolated from the phyllosphere of solanaceous crop (Chilli, Brinjal, Potato, Tomato and Tobacco) and five out of thirty isolates were selected based on their methanol consuming and plant growth promoting traits. Consortium of isolates (Methylobacterium populi AAU PPFM C-7, M. radiotolerans AAU PPFM C-17, M. populi AAU PPFM C-19, M. populi AAU PPFM T-2 and M. radiotolerans B-2) were prepared after studying their compatibility. Pot study was laid out in net house using completely randomized design with four replications on Chilli crop. The results of the study showed significant effect of PPFMs consortium on growth parameters of chilli (viz. shoot length, root length, shoot weight, root weight, number of branches per plant) that could be result of the plant growth promoting traits of PPFMs.