Abstract Description

Drought stress in crops has become a significant challenge in the agricultural sector owing to global warming. While various traditional methods have been employed to mitigate the stress conditions, they also pose their own unique set of challenges. Phosphate Solubilising Bacteria (PSB) amongst other bioinoculants, appear to show potential in enhancing crop resilience to drought. The aim of the study was to investigate the potential of PSBs in enhancing drought stress tolerance in tomato plants. A consortium of selected PSB isolates was assessed under greenhouse conditions using a randomized block design. The bioinoculant consortium was applied to tomato seedlings which were subjected to controlled drought conditions. Growth parameters including root length, stem diameter, plant height, biomass and flowering time, amongst others, were measured and analyzed statistically using two-way ANOVA. Results indicated that inoculation of seedlings with PSB significantly improved root development, plant height, stem diameter and biomass under drought conditions (P < 0.05). Although the treated plants exhibited delayed flowering under induced drought conditions this may be suggestive of an adaptive strategy for resource allocation towards stress resilience. In conclusion, PSBs may serve as one of the environmentally friendly mitigation strategies for sustainable tomato cultivation in drought-prone areas.