Aims: The use of rhizobacteri as biofertilizer may help plants in obtaining nutrients from soil. A consortium inoculant (co-inoculant) consisting of nitrogen fixing and phosphate solubilizing bacteria is formulated to maintain its ability as booster of plant growth. This is easy to be stored and applied on plants. The aims of the study were to formulate rhizobacterial co-inoculant and its application on chili plants at greenhouse experiment.
Methodology and results: Isolates of Burkholderia cepacia KD 2.10, Serratia marcescens KAHN 15.12, and Bacillus thuringiensis SAHA 12.12 which have the ability in fixing nitrogen and solubilizing phosphate were used in this study. The three isolates did not show antagonistic activity and hypersensitivity reaction on chili plant. Biofertilizer as carrier material with talc-based powder was mixed with three isolates. This 109 CFU/g cell population of rhizobacterial consortium could be maintained up to six months of storage. Based on result of completely randomized design (CRD) using two factorials and four replicates, application of rhizobacterial co-inoculant significantly affected plant height, number of leaves, flowering age, dry weight of upper plant and root, and root length of chili plant.
Conclusion, significance and impact of study: Rhizobacterial co-inoculant was effective as biofertilizer to improve the growth of chili plants and it reduced the use of chemical fertilizer.