Bio-seed dressing agent promotes wheat growth and improves fertilizer use efficiency

Efficient and safe bio-seed dressing agents are urgently needed to replace
traditional chemical ones in wheat production. Here, we evaluated and
compared the field performance of a novel bio-seed dressing formulated
with five bacterial strains typically used as animal probiotics against a
conventional chemical seed dressing (comprising epoxiconazole,
imidacloprid, and chlorpyrifos) in wheat plot trials. Compared with both
the undressed control and the chemical treatment, the bio-dressing
significantly increased wheat biomass as well as N, P, and K accumulation,
raising the theoretical grain yield by 8.3 % and 10.2 %, respectively.
Further analyses revealed that the bio-dressing increased both the
diversity and abundance of rhizosphere soil bacteria. The Chao1 index
(5258.27 ± 87.14) was significantly higher than that of the undressed
control (5086.20 ± 29.38) and the chemical treatment (4891.56 ± 87.66).
The Shannon index (6.87 ± 0.04) was also significantly higher than that of
the undressed control (6.80 ± 0.03) and the chemical treatment (6.82 ±
0.03). The bio-dressing enhanced total N and improved the availability of
P and K in rhizosphere soil, thereby promoting mineral nutrient uptake by
wheat. These results demonstrate that the bio-seed dressing agent can
effectively replace its chemical counterpart to promote wheat growth and
increase fertilizer use efficiency.