Plant trials
Research carried out by Stijn Spaepen and Anja Croonenborghs, coordinated by Jos Vanderleyden
To unravel the contribution of bacterial traits to the plant growth promoting effect of Azospirillum, we have developed different test system for plant growth.
We use in vitro test systems (e.g. petri dish with germinating seeds or test tubes for plant seedlings) to test the effect of plant growth effectors, such as auxins. For these tests we mainly use wheat.
Effect A. brasilense Sp245 on root development (Dobbelaere et al., 1999).
Larger tests, resembling more to the field conditions, are conducted in our greenhouse facilities. These tests can be divided into:
- Trials for plant growth promotion (mainly under reduced fertilizer use)
- Trials to evaluate the biocontrol effect.
Several plant species are used in these experiments, such as wheat, maize, lettuce and other vegetables.
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Green house trials with wheat and lettuce.
References:
Dobbelaere S, Croonenborghs A, Thys A, Vande Broek A and Vanderleyden J (1999) Phytostimulatory effect of Azospirillum brasilense wild type and mutant strains altered in IAA production on wheat. Plant Soil 212: 155-164. Springerlink
