Isolation and Characterisation of Diazotrophic Bacteria from Rhizosphere of Different Rice Cultivars of South Assam, India

Free living heterotrophic bacteria were isolated from the rhizosphere of 10 local and cultivated varieties of rice grown in Karimganj district of South Assam. Among the 25 isolates, 11 isolates withplant growth promoting activity were identified based on phenotypic and 16S rDNA sequence analysis. The strains were identified as Shingomonasazotifigens, Pseudomonas putida, Stenotrophomonasmaltophila,Acinetobacterradioresistance, Alkaligenesfaecalis, Enterobactercloaceae subsp. dissolvens, Pantoeaagglomerans, Klebsiellapneumoneae, Achromobacterxyloxidans, Herbispirillumrubrisubalbicans and Herbispirillum sp . The efficient strains are isolated from the local varieties of rice plant. The isolate KR-23 ( Sphingomonasazotifigens ) was a novel bacteria reported for the first time as nitrogen fixing bacteria from India. The nitrogen fixing ability along with IAA production, ACC deaminase activity and P-solubilisation by the bacteria has shown their potential for plant-growth-promoting rhizobacteria. KR-6( Stenotrophomonasmaltophila ) and KR-7( Herbispirillumrubrisubalbicans ) have been reported earlier as plant pathogensbut theyhave shown a high potential for nitrogen fixing and auxin producing activity in the present study