The Effect of Crop Growth Enhancer Bacteria on Yield and Yield Components of Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.)

To examine the effect of crop growth enhancer bacteria on morpho-physiological characteristics and yield of Safflower, an experiment in randomized complete block design (RCBD) was conducted in eight levels with four replications. Bacterial factor consisted of control (absence of bacteria), Azotobacter Chroococcum ,Azospirillum Brasilense , Pseudomonas Fluorescens , Azotobacter Chroococcum+ Azospirillum Brasilense, Azotobacter Chroococcum + Pseudomonas Fluorescens, Azospirillum Brasilense + Pseudomonas Fluorescens, Azotobacter Chroococcum + Azospirillum Brasilense + Pseudomonas Fluorescens respectively. Therefore there were 32 experimental units or plots. The results showed that the effect of bacteria inoculation on the grain yield, biological yield, yield components and morphological traits such as plant height and number of nodes per plant at 1% probability level was significant. The highest grain yield by 2284 kgha-1 belonged to treatment in which three crop growth enhancer bacteria were inoculated at the planting time. In contrast, the lowest grain yield (1643.4 kgha-1) was related to the control treatment (non-inoculated). Based on the obtained results, Safflower seed inoculation with crop growth enhancer bacteria, especially with the combination of bacteria, improved the morphological and physiological characteristics of the crop.