Influence of Rhizobacterial Inoculation on the Growth Parameters of Ashwagandha

Rhizobacteria from different medicinal plants viz., Withania somnifera, Coleus forskohlii and Vinca rosea grown in different parts of Tamil Nadu were isolated and characterized. A pot culture experiment was conducted at the Department of Agricultural Microbiology, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore. The results revealed that the rhizobacterial inoculation positively influenced the germination, vigour index, shoot and ischolar_main length, biomass, dry matter production, ischolar_main and alkaloid yield of ashwagandha. Inoculation of Azospirillumlipoferum-AAs-11, Azotobacter-AAz-3, Bacillus-APb-1 and Pseudomonas fluorescens-APs-1 as combined inoculant recorded the maximum growth and yield of ashwagandha.