INFLUENCE OF RHIZOBACTERIA INOCULATION AND LEAD STRESS ON THE PHYSIOLOGICAL AND BIOCHEMICAL ATTRIBUTES OF WHEAT GENOTYPES

Contamination of soils by lead (Pb) is of widespread occurrence as result of human, agricultural and industrial activities. A pot study was carried out to evaluate physio-biochemical responses (chlorophyll content, soluble protein, proline content and activities of enzymatic antioxidants) of 10 bread wheat genotypes to inoculation of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (combination of Azospirillum brasilense and Azotobacter chroococcum) under Pb stress (0 and 65 mg kg-1). Result revealed that lead stress averagely decreased grain yield of wheat cultivars by 41.4 %. Lead stress increased lipid peroxidation and induced a significant accumulation of proline in leaves. Protein content decreased from 8–25.4% in different cultivars in Pbcontaminated soils. Activities of antioxidant enzymes, such as, ascorbate peroxidase,superoxide dismutase and catalase were significantly increased in the presence of lead. An increase in total hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) content was noticed under lead stress in all cultivars, which was similar to production of malondialdehyde (MDA). However, promotion of growth was evident in most cultivars as a consequence of rhizobacterial inoculation, since plant growth promoting rhizobacteria could improve grain yield, proline content and membrane integrity, while significantly reduced the production of MDA and H2O2. Total chlorophyll content considerably declined with Pb stress. Between cultivars the best performance under lead stress was observed in Sardari, Shahriyar and Gaspard which had the highest yield and antioxidants activity. Obtained results showed that inoculation with Azotobacter and Azospirillium possibly through bioremediation strategy can stimulate plant growth under adverse environmental conditions, such as heavy metal contamination.