Evaluation of the lactic acid bacteria and yeast consortium efficiency to increase the productivity of Triticum aestivum L.

Abstract

The influence of a microbial consortium of lactic acid bacteria — Lactobacillus casei, Lac­tobacillus plantarum, Lactococcus lactis — and yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae on the yield and quality of winter wheat of the Nador variety was studied. Laboratory experiments were conducted to determine the effect of the microorganism suspension on the morphometric pa­rameters of wheat seedlings in an aqueous culture, and the content of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) in the microbial culture fluid was measured. The lactic acid bacteria — yeast consorti­um exhibited higher biological activity compared to monocultures. The optimal concentration for stimulating wheat growth was found to be a 1.0 % solution of the consortium. The plant growth—promoting ability of the lactic acid bacteria and yeast is attributed to their capacity to synthesize phytohormones. Field experiments demonstrated that the microbial consortium increased grain yield, protein content, microelements (Zn, Fe), and nutrients (N, P, K) in wheat grains. A comparative analysis of the efficacy of the bioproduct “Baikal EM-1” and the microbial consortium showed that treatment with the consortium led to greater accumulation of macroelements in the grains, higher yield, increased protein content, and protein output. The studied consortium demonstrated higher effectiveness than the bioproduct “Baikal EM-1” and can be recommended for implementation in agriculture as an environmentally safe mi­cro­bial preparation, serving as an alternative to chemical agents.