Evaluating the Plant Growth Promoting Efficiency of Freshwater Cyanobacteria using Maize (Zea mays L.) as an Experimental Crop

The present study was mainly focussed on evaluating the plant growth promoting activity of eleven cyanobacterial cultures (ten non-heterocystous and one heterocystous) obtained from the germ plasm collections of the Department of Biology, Wolaita Sodo University, Ethiopia, using Zea mays L. as an experimental crop under pot culture experiment. All the pots were treated with 2.5g of both non-heterocystous and heterocystous cyanobacteria as individual as well as in combined form. The pots treated with 2.5gm of chemical fertilizer Di Ammonium Phosphate was used for comparative purpose. Pots without inoculation was served as a control. All pots inoculated by cyanobacterial cultures and chemical fertilizer showed significant enhancement in all the morphological and biochemical parameters over uninoculated control. The pots treated with non-heterocystous cyanobacterial isolates Geitlerinema sp. WSU3 and heterocystous cyanobacterial isolates Calothrix sp. WSU11 showed significantly the highest results when compared to control, chemical fertilizer treatment, individual and combined treatment of all other cyanobacterial cultures. Based on the current study results, we recommend the cyanobacterial isolates Geitlerinema sp. WSU3 and Calothrix sp. WSU11 can be used as biofertilizers for the cultivation of Z. mays L. as well as can also be used as alternatives for the chemical fertilizers.