Introduction:

This research group focuses on the use of plants as a source of food, energy, and fibre. We work on various aspects from genetics, plant physiology, meteorology to soil sci

Enhancement in rooting and growth of pepper (Piper nigrum L.) seedlings by auxins, sugar, and plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria

In recent and coming years, there are various challenging problems faced by the Sarawak pepper industry especially on the effort to sustaining the production for local and export consumption. To increase the production, the farmers need to proactively involve in the cultivation, however, the ever-increasing cost of production from fertilizers and planting materials have making the effort less profitable. The fertilizers and stimulants mostly are derived from non-renewable resources making it unsustainable and sometimes uneconomical. Therefore, the present study will be conducted to overcome the problems or making it less dependence to the use of synthetic inputs. Moreover, the present study also conducted to elucidate the response of pepper seedlings after sugars and auxins additions. Present study proposed to test the effect of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) on the rooting and growth of pepper seedlings and to evaluate the response of inoculated pepper seedlings after treated with sugars. In addition, the inoculated pepper seedlings will be compared with the pepper seedlings treated with different concentrations of exogenous auxins. This present study will be demonstrated on two growth phases, the rooting performance of fresh unrooted stem cuttings, and the growth performance of pepper seedlings. Four PGPR strains will be tested namely Bacillus cereus strain UPMLH24, Pseudomonas putida strains SC5 and SC14, and P. aeruginosa strain BA46. The strains will be introduced as single inoculum and mixed inoculum. Three types of auxins will be evaluated such as indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), indole butyric acid (IBA), and 1-Naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) on rooting and root growth performance of pepper stem cuttings. Three types of sugars namely sucrose, glucose and fructose will be tested in this study, to observe the response of pepper seedlings to sugars additions. Present study is expected to produce pre-inoculated pepper seedlings and introduce new practice to establish successful pepper nursery production. This project was funded through Universiti Putra Malaysia grant GP-IPB/2018/9557601

Publication

Journal

1. Mohammad Fitri Ab Rahman, Zakry Fitri Ab Aziz, Nurain Izzatie Mohamad Rashidy, Masnindah Malahubban, Noorasmah Saupi, Faridah Ab Razak, and Osumanu Haruna Ahmed (2019). Sucrose and Bacillus inoculum enhance rooting of pepper (Piper nigrum L.) stem cuttings. Abstracts of the 7 th International Symposium on Applied Engineering and Sciences (SAES2019), 11th–12th November 2019, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.
   
   
2. Nurain Izzatie M.R., Mohammad Fitri A.R., and Zakry Fitri A.A. (2019). Effect of Rhizobacteria Inoculant and Sucrose on Rooting Performance of Black Pepper (Piper nigrum L.) Stem Cuttings. Soil Science Conference 2019, Malaysian Society of Soil Science, 16-18 April 2019, Equatorial Hotel, Melaka, Malaysia.

For more further enquiries:

Dr. Zakry Fitri Bin Ab. Aziz
Senior Lecturer
Department of Crop Science
Faculty of Agricultural Science and Forestry
Tel: +6086 855831
Email: zakryfitri@upm.edu.my

Updated:: 07/09/2020 [lanz]