Characterization of fluorescent Pseudomonas sp. from rhizospheric soil of different declining apple orchards of Shimla and Sirmaur Districts of Himachal Pradesh

Apple replant disease has adversely affected apple orchards for many years and is now found in most fruit growing regions worldwide. The use of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) in agriculture is gaining worldwide importance and is viewed as a novel and potential tool for providing substantial benefits. The present study was aimed to isolate and characterize fluorescent Pseudomonas for the management of replant problem. All the fluorescent Pseudomonas isolates were screened for various in vitro plant growth promoting attributes and four viz., Pseudomonas putida L, Pseudomonas fluorescens M and Pseudomonas aeruginosa J and b were selected based on plant growth promoting activities. the selected phenotypically characterized strains of Pseudomonas sp., were found to be potent and may have importance in the field of agriculture, horticulture and especially in the treatment of apple plants in replant problem area.