RESUMO
Twenty-five strains of plant-growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) containing 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC) deaminase and 10 strains of rhizobia were isolated from rhizosphere soil samples and nodules of mung bean. They were screened in separate trials under salt-stressed axenic conditions. The three most effective strains of PGPR (Mk1, Pseudomonas syringae ; Mk20, Pseudomonas fluorescens ; and Mk25, Pseudomonas fluorescens biotype G) and Rhizobium phaseoli strains M1, M6, and M9 were evaluated in coinoculation for their growth-promoting activity at three salinity levels (original, 4 dS·m(-1), and 6 dS·m(-1)) under axenic conditions. The results showed that salinity stress significantly reduced plant growth but inoculation with PGPR containing ACC deaminase and rhizobia enhanced plant growth, thus reducing the inhibitory effect of salinity. However, their combined application was more effective under saline conditions, and the combination Mk20 × M6 was the most efficient for improving seedling growth and nodulation. The effect of high ethylene concentrations on plant growth and the performance of these strains for reducing the negative impact of saline stress was also evaluated by conducting a classical triple-response bioassay. The intensity of the classical triple response decreased owing to inoculation with these strains, with the root and shoot lengths of inoculated mung bean seedlings increasing and stem diameter decreasing, which is a typical response to the dilution in a classical triple response bioassay. Thus, coinoculation with PGPR containing ACC deaminase and Rhizobium spp. could be a useful approach for inducing salt tolerance and thus improving growth and nodulation in mung bean under salt-affected conditions.