Impact of Plant Growth-Promoting Rhizobacteria on Spinach Growth Concerned with Industrial Effluents Contaminated with Chromium

Abstract

Heavy metal pollution in soil poses a significant threat to the environment and human health as it accumulates throughout the food chain. Remediation of soil contamination involves biological, chemical, and physical methods. Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria inoculation helps some plants stabilize heavy metals in polluted soil by forming chelates with the metals. An experiment was conducted to examine the impact of Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria on spinach growth and heavy metal stability in polluted soil with industrial effluents. The study found that Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (S1 and S2) enhanced growth and yield parameters, with fresh weights reaching 18% and 14%, highest dry weights at 10% and 40%, and longest roots at 11%. The treatment with Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria S1 recorded the highest SPAD values (27%). Chemical parameters revealed that Cr levels in roots peaked in treatments without PGPR. The results concluded that PGPR can effectively remediate heavy metal-contaminated soils and industrial effluent-irrigated soils used for food crop growth.