(Group Leader)
Dr. M. Sajjad Mirza
Principal Scientist
Team Members:
Development of Specific Biofertilizers for Crop Varieties:
Biofertilizers have been developed by NIBGE for almost all major crops and are being marketed under the commercial name "BioPower". Research work is being conducted to further improve the product and develop specific biofertilizer for each crop variety. Biofertilizers are based on living microbes (plant growth promoting rhizobacteria, PGPR) with beneficial traits like nitrogen-fixation, phosphate solubilization, phytohormone production and bio-control activity. Plant-beneficial traits are present in a number of diverse bacterial groups (genera) and a bacterial strain may possess more than one growth-promoting mechanism. Therefore a number of different formulations (inocula) can be developed for each crop that differ in their performance depending upon the type and number of bacterial strains in the final mix, the host crop (variety) and the soil type. For effective utilization of the technology, determination of the bacterial diversity and population dynamics of indigenous microbes in the rhizosphere of crops including transgenic varieties is essentially required. This objective can be achieved by the isolation and identification of bacteria as well as by DNA-based metagenomic studies to detect "non-cultureable" bacteria in the rhizosphere
Biocontrol of Phytopathogen with the application of antagonistic Trichoderma and Bacillus spp.
Solubilization of inorganic tri-calcium phosphate by bacterial isolate M-24 (isolated from maize rhizosphere)
forming a clear zone around the colony
Facilities/Services:
Research Funds:
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HEC (PhD Research Student Funds)
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HEC Funded Research Project (Microbial diversity and molecular signals controlling plant-microbe interaction in the rhizosphere (PI:Dr. KA Malik; Co-PI: Asma Imran, SS, NIBGE)