Enhancing plant quality and outplanting growth of Acacia auriculiformis in dry wasteland plantations by inoculating a selected microbial consortium in the nursery

In this study, the performance of a selected microbial consortium (Scutellospora calospora + Azotobacter chroococcum + Bacillus coagulans + Trichoderma harzianum) on Acacia auriculiformis A. Cunn. ex Benth. was evaluated through large-scale nursery trials at three locations in the Mandya district of Karnataka state, India. At each location, 500 inoculated and 500 uninoculated seedlings were cultivated. The increase in plant dry biomass of inoculated plants was 31% (mean of three locations) compared with uninoculated plants. The seedlings inoculated with microbial consortium under large-scale nursery trials were planted in wasteland at three locations, and their growth was monitored for nearly 6 years. At the end of the study, field growth of inoculated trees, measured as the biovolume index, was 52% higher than that of uninoculated trees. This study shows that the selected microbial consortium enhances nursery quality and midterm field growth of Acacia auriculiformis plantations on dry wasteland.