Plant growing media composition plays a crucial role in the successful transplantation of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria in hydroponic lettuce

The different components of the root zone (plant, microbiome, and rooting medium) can be engineered to enhance crop production sustainably. The application of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) can contribute to plant growth enhancement. However, multispecies microbial inocula may be more effective in improving plant performance than single species PGPRs. To this end, in soilless systems, the proper selection of the plant growing medium raw materials plays a crucial role in the effectiveness of bacterial community amendment. Therefore, we investigated the effect of transplanting bacterial community inocula (BCI S1-5) on lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) root-associated bacterial community functioning inside a plant factory with artificial lighting. The lettuce plants were grown in ten plant growing media with varying raw materials.