Endophytic Bacteria-based Biostimulant Improved Rice (Oryzae sativa L.) Growth and Production in Mali

Aims: Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is usually the staple food of more than half of the world's population, and in particular that of Mali. Mali is among the largest producers of rice in West Africa. But also given the in-population growth and in consumption, Mali is forced to resort to imports to cover its rice needs, thus 45% of the rice sold on the national market comes from imports. For self-sufficiency in rice, the aim of this research is to formulate a biostimulant with high capacity to improve rice growth and production in Mali.

Study Design: This experimental research involving a Malian local rice cultivar named Kogoni and biostimulant endophyte bacteria isolated from rice in Mali.

Pace and Duration of Study: This research was carried out in greenhouse at LaboREM-Biotech and in the field at the Office of irrigated perimeters of Baguineda (OPIB) for 3 years.

To achieve this objective: endophyte bacteria with high plant growth promotion activities were selected from bacterial collection of LaboREM, biostimulants composed with selected endophytes were formulated, formulated biostimulants were tested in greenhouses and fields to prove their capacities to improve rice growth and production.

Results: A total of five isolates, including 3 from Xoo and 2 from Xoc, were isolated in Niono from two varieties of rice: Kogoni91-1 and Adny11. No isolate characteristic of Xanthomonas oryzae was observed on samples from Baguineda. The three selected rice endophytes were tested in vitro to assess their effectiveness in controlling Xoo and Xoc. Following this test, 100% of the endophytes showed significant antimicrobial activity against Xoo and Xoc with an inhibition diameter varying between 6 and 28.5 mm. endo Ad9 was selected for its strong ability to inhibit the growth of both pathogens at the same time.