Biofertilization effect on growth, yield and fruit quality of apple cv Topaz

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1 Indian J. Agric. Res., 51 (1) 2017 : Print ISSN: / Online ISSN: X AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH COMMUNICATION CENTRE Biofertilization effect on growth, yield and fruit quality of apple cv Topaz Walid Fediala Abd El-Gleel Mosa 1, 2, Lidia Sas Paszt 1, Mateusz Frąc 1, Paweł Trzciński 1, Michał Przybył 1, Waldemar Treder 1 and Krzysztof Klamkowski 1 Research Institute of Horticulture, Konstytucji 3 Maja 1/3, Skierniewice, Poland. Received: Accepted: DOI: /ijare.v51i ABSTRACT The experiment was carried out from the beginning of spring in 2014 in pots near the greenhouse of Research Institute of Horticulture in Skierniewice, Poland, on maiden apple trees cv. Topaz. In May 2014, chemical fertilization (NPK) and various bioproducts: Fertigo, Micosat, Humus UP, Humus Active + Aktywit PM, Aktywit PM, BioFeed Quality, BioFeed Amin, Vinassa, Florovit Natura and Florovit Eko alone or with Pantoea sp., Pseudomonas fluorescens, Klebsiella oxytoca and Rhizobium sp. bacteria were applied to evaluate their effect on growth, yield and fruit quality. Fruit weight was markedly enhanced with Humus Active + Aktywit PM and Humus UP supplemented with beneficial bacteria, and by Humus UP and Biofeed Amin treatments, compared to control. Key words: Apple, Biofertiliser, Fertigo manure, Micosat, Rhizosphere bacteria, Vinassa. INTRODUCTION Apples are one of the most important and consumed fruits in the world (Brown, 2012). They are widely grown throughout almost the entire temperate climate region in the Northern and Southern hemispheres (Passos et al., 2014). Continuous and excessive use of chemical fertilization leads to the deterioration of soil characteristics and fertility and might lead to the accumulation of heavy metals in plant tissues, negatively affecting the nutritional value and edibility of fruits (Shimbo et al., 2001). A bio-fertilizer is a substance which contains living microorganisms which, when applied to seeds, plant surfaces, or soil, colonize the rhizosphere or the interior of the plant and promote growth by increasing the supply or availability of primary nutrients to the host plant (Vessey, 2003). Bashan and De-Bashan (2005) confirmed that a number of bacterial species mostly associated with the plant rhizosphere are beneficial for plant growth, yield and crop quality. They have been called Plant Growth Promoting Bacteria (PGPB), including the strains in the genera Azospirillium, Azotobacter, Bacillus and Rhizobium. Biological fertilization is based on the use of natural inputs including fertilizers, decaying remains of organic matter, excess crops, domestic sewage, animal manure, and beneficial microorganisms, such as fungi and bacteria (Chirinos et al., 2006). Biofertilization is now a very important method for providing plants with their nutritional requirements, without having an undesirable impact on the environment (Abou El-Yazied and Sellim, 2007). The purpose of this study was investigating the influence of NPK fertilization and some bioproducts on their own or together with some beneficial bacterial strains on growth, yielding and yield characteristics of apple trees. MATERIALS AND METHODS The experiment was carried out from the beginning of spring 2014 in pots near the greenhouse of the Research Institute of Horticulture in Skierniewice, Poland, on maiden apple trees cv. Topaz. The experiment comprised of twentytwo treatments and each one involved 8 trees/replicates. In the spring of 2014, NPK fertilization, Fertigo, Micosat, loose Yeast, Florovit Natura and Florovit Eko (PK) were added to the soil at two times: at the end of April and the second time in the middle of June Humus UP, Humus Active + Aktywit PM, BioFeed Quality, BioFeed Amin and Vinassa were applied in a liquid form to the soil at the end of May and repeated in the middle of July Some beneficial bacterial species: Pantoea sp., Pseudomonas fluorescens, Klebsiella oxytoca and Rhizobium sp. were added as a solution to the soil in July The same treatments were applied to the trees during These are the fertilization combinations used in this experiment. 1. Chemical NPK fertilization (control): (g m -2 ) NH 4 NO 3, 6.52 (g m -2 ) triple super phosphate, and 16.0 (g m -2 ) K 2 SO 4. It was applied as a 60 (kg ha -1 ) N, 30 (kg ha -1 ) P, and 80 (kg ha -1 ) K. *Corresponding author s walidbreeder@yahoo.com 1 Research Institute of Horticulture, Konstytucji 3 Maja 1/3, Skierniewice, Poland. 2 Plant Production Department, Faculty of Agriculture (Saba Basha), Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt.

2 26 INDIAN JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH 2. Fertigo (manure) (Ferm-O-Feed, Netherlands): Granulated bovine manure containing 55% C, 1% N, 0.3% P and 1% K; and also microelements and soil microorganisms. The product was applied as a 150 g m -2 (1,500 kg ha -1 ), equivalent to 45 kg ha -1 N, 13 kg ha -1 P and 17 kg ha -1 K. 3. Micosat (CCS Aosta Srl, Italy): Microbial inoculum containing mycorrhizal fungi (Glomus mosseae and G. intraradices), and plant growth promoting bacteria (Pseudomonas fluorescense and Bacillus subtilis). The product contains 40% C, 0.15% N, 431 (mg kg -1 ) P and 9,558 (mg kg -1 ) K. Micosat F12 WP was applied to the soil at planting at a dose of 10 g m -2 (100 kg ha -1 ), and again in mid-june in liquid form (Micosat FMS 200) at a rate of 1 g m -2 (10 kg ha -1 ). 4. HumusUP (Ekodarpol, Poland): An extract from vermicompost containing 0.65% C, 0.03% N, 30.8 (mg kg -1 ) P and 4,535 (mg kg -1 ) K. It was applied to the soil as a 2% solution (2 ml m -2 ) (20 L ha -1 ) 5. Humus Active + Aktywit PM (Ekodarpol, Poland): An extract from vermicompost based on a product derived from molasses. Humus Active is a soil improver with active humus and populations of beneficial microorganisms, containing 0.78 % C, 0.03 % N, 1,050 (mg kg -1 ) P and 4,119 (mg kg -1 ) K. Aktywit PM is a soil improver containing 20.5% C, 0.92 % N, 81.2 (mg kg -1 ) P and 42,990 (mg kg -1 ) K. Humus Active was applied to the soil as a 2% solution (2 ml m -2 ) (20 L ha -1 ) and Aktywit PM was applied to the soil as a 1% solution - 1 ml m -2 (10 L ha -1 ). 6. Bio Feed Quality (Agrobio Products B.V., Netherlands): An extract from several seaweed species reinforced with humic and fulvic acids, containing 0.6 % C, 0.07 % N, 32.6 (mg kg -1 ) P. It was applied to the soil as a 0.5% solution (0.5 mlm -2 ) (5 L ha -1 ). 7. Bio Feed Amin (Agrobio Products B.V., Netherlands): An extract reinforced with amino acids - an extract of vegetal amino acids containing 1.12% C, 0.14% N, 347 (mg kg -1 ) P. The product was applied to the soil as a 0.5% solution (0.5 ml m -2 ) (5 Lha -1 ). 8. Loose yeast (Biopuls Start-up of Micro Life Company). Biopuls Stardust composition: Minerals: (g kg -1 ) N, (g kg -1 ) P, (g kg -1 ) K, 3.98 (g kg -1 ) Ca, (g kg -1 ) Na, 0.13 (g kg -1 ) Fe, 0.01 (g kg -1 ) Cu, 2.05 (g kg -1 ) Mg, 0.15 (g kg -1 ) Mn, 0.19 (g kg -1 ) Zn, 0.28 (g kg -1 ) I, 1.60 (mg kg -1 ) Fe,0.40 (mg kg -1 ) Mo, (mg kg -1 ) Co. Vitamins: Vitamin (mg.kg -1 ) B1 (hydrochloride Table 1: The content of experimental pot soil from macro and micronutrients thiamine), vitamin (mg.kg -1 ) B2 (riboflavin), vitamin 0.38 (mg.100g -1 ) B12, (mg.kg -1 ) Biotin, (mg.kg -1 )of folic acid, (mg.kg -1 )pantothenic acid, mg.kg -1 Choline, mg.kg -1 of Niacin, (mg.kg -1 ) Vitamin E (alpha tocopherol). amino acids: GKG aspartic acid, GKG Glutamic acid, (g.kg -1 ) Lysine, 5.60 (g.kg -1 ) Methionine, (g.kg -1 ) Threonine, (g.kg -1 ) Tryptophan, 4.53 (g.kg -1 ) cystine, (g.kg -1 ) Leucine, (g.kg -1 ) Isoleucine, (g.kg -1 ) Valine, 5.58 (g.kg -1 ) Histidine, (g.kg -1 ) Arginine, (g.kg -1 ) Serine, (g.kg -1 ) Alanine, (g.kg -1 ) Phenylalanine, (g.kg -1 ) Tyrosine, (g.kg -1 ) Glycine, (g.kg -1 ) proline, 1.47 (g.kg -1 ) Ornithine, (g.kg -1 ) of - aminobutyric acid. It was applied to the soil as a 90 g/tree- 360 per plot for one treatment. 9. Vinassa (Józefów Sp. z o.o., Poland): Molasses residue from yeast production containing 12.0% C, 1.86% N, 949 (mg kg -1 ) P, 17,615 (mg kg -1 ) K. The product was applied to the soil as a 0.5% solution (0.5 ml m -2 ) (5 Lha -1 ). 10. Florovit Natura (NPK): N - 5%, P 2 O 5-3%, K 2 O - 2%. The product was applied as a 375 gm/ tree. 11. Florovit Eko (PK) P 2 O 5-3%, K 2 O - 5%. It was applied as a 375 g/ tree: Every treatment listed above was applied alone and with beneficial bacteria. In total, the experimental design consisted of twenty-two combinations. The content of experimental soil from macro and micronutrients was illustrated in Table 1. The effect of the treatments was studied by evaluating their influence on the following parameters: Gas exchange measurements: Net photosynthesis, transpiration and stomatal conductance were recorded by using LCpro + (ADC BioScientific, UK) portable system. Measurements of gas exchange were conducted two times during the vegetative period, in July and in August Trunk cross sectional area (TCSA): The TCSA was measured with a Vernier calliper two times during the vegetative period, in July and in November 2014 and Leaf weight and area: From each treatment, three samples were collected during the vegetative season in 2015, each containing 50 leaves, to measure their weight and leaf surface area. The leaves were laid out on a tray and then scanned for their surface area, determined with WinRhizo software (Arsenault et al., 1995). Fruit yield per tree: Yield was estimated by calculating the weight in kg in each treatment, at harvest time, at the end of August Nr lab. ph KCl P K Mg B Cu Fe Mn Zn mg/1000 g soil 14/

3 Fruit quality: After storage, the weight of individual fruits, percentage of blush, flesh firmness (FF), total soluble solids content (TSS) and titratable acidity (TA) were measured. The weight of fruit in g was measured using a WPS 2100/C/ 2 balance (Radwag, Poland). Flesh firmness was measured by the penetrometer method on two opposite sides of each fruit, using an EPT-1R Pressure Tester (Kelowna, Canada), equipped with an 11 mm diameter Magness-Taylor probe. The results were expressed in kg. The TSS and TA were measured in freshly prepared juice. The TSS was determined using an ATAGO PR-101 digital refractometer (ATAGO, Japan) and the results were expressed in %. The TA was determined by the standard titration method using a DL 50 Graphix automatic titrator (Mettler Toledo, Switzerland), by titrating the juice with 0.1 N NaOH to the end point, at ph=8.1. The results were expressed as a percentage of malic acid. All the obtained results were subjected to uni- or multivariate analysis of variance using Statistica version 10 (Statsoft Inc. 2012). RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The results in Table 2 show that tree thickness measured in May 2014 was increased by Vinassa, NPK and Humus UP enriched with beneficial bacteria and also by Humus UP and Florovit Eko, as compared to NPK fertilization. In November, tree thickness was improved Volume 51 Issue 1 (2017) 27 slightly by the combination of beneficial bacteria with Vinassa, in comparison with the control. In September 2014, transpiration rate was slightly increased by the application of beneficial bacteria combined with Micosat, BioFeed Amin and Vinassa, over the control. Stomatal conductance was also slightly enhanced by Yeast and Vinassa combined with beneficial bacteria, as compared to the control. Photosynthetic rate was considerably improved by the application of Vinassa and BioFeed Amin combined with beneficial bacteria, as compared to the control. The data in Table 3 indicate that tree thickness in July and in November 2015 was slightly increased by the application of beneficial bacteria with Florovit Natura, as compared to the control. Photosynthetic rate in July 2015 was improved by the application of beneficial bacteria with BioFeed Quality, over the control. In September 2015, it was slightly increased by Yeast and BioFeed Amin treatments, compared with the control. The results listed in Table 4 revealed that leaf weight was significantly increased by the application of Yeast, on its own or combined with beneficial bacteria, over control. Leaf surface area was slightly increased by Yeast, Biofeed Amin and Florovit Natura treatments, comparing with control. Fruit weight was significantly increased by Humus Table 2: The effect of NPK fertilization and application of bioproducts, used alone or enriched with beneficial bacteria, on photosynthetic rate, transpiration rate and stomatal conductance, and trunk thickness of Topaz apple trees during Treatment Tree trunk thickness (mm) Transpiration Stomatal conductance Photosynthesis (mmol H 2 o m -2 s -1 ) (mol m -2 s -1 ) (mmol co 2 m -2 s -1 ) 2014 May Nov. September NPK (control) 11.55ab 15.11ab a a c NPK +bacteria 11.81ab 15.19ab a a abc Fertigo 11.33ab 14.70ab a a bc Fertigo+bacteria 10.98ab 14.43ab a 96.86a abc Micosat 10.30b 14.29ab a a abc Micosat+bacteria b 14.41ab a a abc Humus UP 11.87ab 15.69a a a abc Humus UP+bacteria 11.74ab 15.27ab a a abc Humus Active +Aktywit PM 11.34ab 15.12ab a a abc Humus Active +Aktywit PM + bacteria 11.02ab 15.11ab a 86.52a abc BioFeed Quality 11.16ab 14.68ab a a abc BioFeed Quality+bacteria 10.44ab 14.04b a a ab BioFeed Amin 11.23ab 15.19ab a a abc BioFeed Amin+bacteria 11.35ab 15.60ab a a abc Yeast 11.00ab 14.87ab a a abc Yeast+bacteria 10.68ab 14.86ab a 73.90a c Vinassa 11.24ab 15.10ab a a abc Vinassa+bacteria 12.07a 15.75a a a a Florovit Natura 11.55ab 15.61ab a a abc Florovit Natura+bacteria 11.26ab 15.65a a 98.36a abc Florovit Eko 11.72ab 15.73a a a abc Florovit Eko+bacteria 11.21ab 14.69ab a 98.36a abc Means not sharing the same letter (s) with in each column, are significantly different at 0.05 level of probability.

4 28 INDIAN JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH Table 3: The effect of NPK fertilization and application of bioproducts, used alone or enriched with beneficial bacteria, on photosynthesis rate, transpiration rate and stomatal conductance, and trunk thickness of Topaz apple trees during Treatment Tree trunk thickness Photosynthesis Stomatal conductance Transpiration (mm) (mmol co 2 m -2 s -1 ) (mol m -2 s -1 ) (mmol H 2 o m -2 s -1 ) 2015 July Nov. July September July September July September NPK (control) abc abc 10.07ab 4.35 abcd 0.21 bcd 0.24abcde 1.78cdefgh 1.18efgh NPK+bacteria abc abc 13.05ab 2.58d 0.28ab 0.29abc 1.69efgh 1.72a Fertigo abc 17.63c 10.44ab 5.01abc 0.21 bcd 0.27abcd 1.86bcdefg 1.27defg Fertigo+bacteria 16.87bc 18.30bc 12.55ab 4.43 abcd 0.23 abcd 0.26abcde 1.54gh 1.60ab Micosat 16.86bc 17.95c 11.08ab 4.32 abcd 0.21 bcd 0.29abc 1.73defgh 1.28def Micosat+bacteria 16.99abc 18.24bc 12.42ab 4.79abc 0.30a 0.31a 1.66efgh 1.63ab Humus UP abc abc 10.97ab 4.30 abcd 0.21 bcd 0.27abcd 1.50h 1.29de Humus UP+bacteria abc 18.84abc 12.14ab 4.21 abcd 0.25abcd 0.32a 1.54gh 1.55bc Humus Active +Aktywit PM abc abc 9.76b 3.85cd 0.23 abcd 0.29abcd 1.64fgh 1.32de Humus Active +Aktywit PM+bacteria abc abc 12.96ab 4.29 abcd 0.29a 0.30ab 1.85bcdefg 1.41cd BioFeed Quality abc abc 11.45ab 4.13bcd 0.17d 0.26abcde 1.81cdefgh 1.11ghi BioFeed Quality+bacteria 16.68c 17.83c 13.26a 4.04bcd 0.25abc 0.32a 2.20ab 1.20efgh BioFeed Amin abc 18.82abc 11.96ab 6.08ab 0.21 bcd 0.22bcde 1.85bcdefgh 1.11fghi BioFeed Amin+bacteria abc abc 11.77ab 3.99cd 0.23abcd 0.24abcde 2.05abcd 1.11ghij Yeast abc abc 10.71ab 6.19a 0.19cd 0.20de 1.82cdefgh 1.04hijk Yeast+bacteria abc abc 12.43ab 3.98cd 0.23 abcd 0.27abcd 1.96abcdef 1.23efg Vinassa abc 19.87abc 11.06ab 5.16abc 0.19cd 0.18e 2.02abcde 0.94k Vinassa+bacteria 18.54abc ab 13.06ab 4.46 abcd 0.24 abcd 0.22bcde 1.94abcdef 1.20efgh Florovit Natura 18.65ab 20.47ab 11.42ab 5.69abc 0.23 abcd 0.24abcde 2.23a 0.94jk Florovit Natura+bacteria 18.73a 21.27a 12.26ab 4.15 abcd 0.21bcd 0.21cde 1.82cdefgh 1.18efgh Florovit Eko abc 19.89abc 10.17ab 5.35abc 0.19cd 0.20de 2.11abc 1.01ijk Florovit Eko+bacteria abc abc 13.09a 4.02cd 0.23a 0.26abcde 2.30a 1.20efgh Means not sharing the same letter (s) with in each column, are significantly different at 0.05 level of probability.

5 Volume 51 Issue 1 (2017) 29 Table 4: The effect of NPK fertilization and application of bioproducts, used alone or enriched with beneficial bacteria, on leaf weight, leaf surface area, fruit yield, blush %, TSS %, titratable acidity and firmness (kg) in Topaz apple trees in Treatment Leaf weight (g) Leaf area(cm 2 ) Yield as fruit weight (g) Blush (%) TSS (%) Titratable acidity Firmness (kg) (% malic acid) NPK 62.13cdefg 44.27ab defg 61.00c 13.49bcde 1.11ab 8.66abc NPK +bacteria 62.20cdefg 54.91ab de 72.00abc 13.45bcde 1.06cdef 8.82abc Fertigo 47.15g b efg 89.00a 13.76bcd 1.07bcd 9.13a Fertigo +bacteria 51.72fg 35.7ab efg 82.00abc 13.91abc 1.05cdef 8.10ab Micosat 55.45efg 44.11ab cde 83.00abc 13.46bcde 0.99ghi 8.52abc Micosat + bacteria 53.75fg 41.04ab def 74.00abc 13.01e 0.98hi 8.50abc Humus up 53.57fg 37.77ab ab 87.00ab 13.34cde 1.02defg 8.28bc Humus up + bacteria 54.48efg 34.30ab a 70.00abc 13.47bcde 1.02cdefgh 8.66abc Humus Active + Aktywit PM 55.93efg 35.71ab defg 80.00abc 13.29cde 1.02cdefgh 8.40abc Humus Active + Aktywit PM + bacteria 56.70defg 40.8ab ab 77.00abc 13.21de 1.01fgh 8.50abc BioFeed Quality 61.95cdefg 44.65ab g 78.00abc 13.24de 1.06bcde 8.61abc BioFeed Quality + bacteria 54.35efg 51.30ab defg 68.00abc 13.24de 1.05cdef 8.86abc BioFeed Amin 67.17bcdef 57.06ab abc 64.00bc 13.24de 0.92j 8.21bc BioFeed Amin + bacteria 66.22cdef 50.48ab defg 60.00c 12.86e 1.02cdefgh 8.24bc yeast 82.05ab 66.56a de 60.00c 13.98ab 0.95ij 8.33abc yeast + bacteria 83.40a 44.14ab de 59.00c 14.52a 1.13a 8.58abc Vinassa 69.77abcde 52.42ab fg 71.00abc 13.23de 0.98hi 8.23bc Vinassa + bacteria 72.22abcd 46.99ab defg 80.00abc 13.05e 1.03cdefg 8.65abc Florovit Natura 72.92abc 56.84ab cde 70.00abc 13.27de 1.07bc 8.35abc Florovit Natura + bacteria 73.10abc 53.08ab bcd 66.00abc 13.14de 1.05cdef 8.10c Florovit Eko 66.05cdef 51.91ab efg 63.00bc 13.49bcde 1.07bcd 8.69abc Florovit Eko + bacteria 64.27cdef 41.22ab efg 69.00abc 12.90e 1.01efgh 8.27bc Means not sharing the same letter (s) with in each column, are significantly different at 0.05 level of probability.

6 30 INDIAN JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH UP supplemented with beneficial bacteria, as compared to the control. The results obtained in May and in November 2014 proved that tree thickness increased by the treatment with Vinassa combined with beneficial bacteria and with Humus UP, over the control. In July and in November 2015, tree thickness was enhanced by the application of Vinassa and Florovit Natura enriched with beneficial bacteria, and also by Florovit Natura used on its own, over the control. Sudhakar et al. (2000) reported that Azotobacter, Bacillus, and Rhizobium are beneficial for plant growth by enhancing access to soil nutrient (Ogut and Er, 2006), associative nitrogen fixation (Elkoca et al., 2007) and producing plant growth regulators (Gunes et al., 2014). Grzyb et al. (2012) and Rozpara et al. (2014) found that Humus UP and Vinassa increased the trunk cross-sectional area of Topaz and Ariwa apple trees, respectively. Photosynthetic rate in September 2014, was considerably improved by the application of Vinassa and BioFeed Amin combined with beneficial bacteria, as compared to the control. In July 2015, it was improved by the application of beneficial bacteria with BioFeed Quality, over the control. In September 2015, it was slightly increased by Yeast and BioFeed Amin treatments, compared with the control. Data obtained by other authors clearly indicate that Pantoea sp. and Klebsiella sp. (Chung et al., 2005), and Pseudomonas and Bacillus (Chen et al., 2006) were reported as effective and useful P- solubilizers. Additionally, Bacillus M3 (N2-fixing and phosphate solubilizing) alone or in combination with Bacillus OSU-142 (N2-fixing) increased the total N, available P and Fe contents in the soil and Fe and Mn contents in the leaves of raspberry cv. Heritage. In addition, N, P and Ca contents of raspberry leaves increased with OSU M3 treatment (Orhan et al., 2010). Nitrogen is a major constituent of chlorophyll, the most vital pigment needed for photosynthesis and amino acids synthesis (Maathuis, 2009). Phosphorus is one of the most essential plant nutrients, which profoundly affects the overall growth of plants (Wang et al., 2009) by influencing cell division and development, energy transport, signal transduction, macromolecular biosynthesis, photosynthesis and respiration of plants (Khan et al., 2009). Iron (Fe) involves in various important biological processes, such as photosynthesis, respiration, chlorophyll biosynthesis (Kobayashi and Nishizawa, 2012). In our results, fruit weight was significantly increased by Humus UP supplemented with beneficial bacteria, as compared to the control which are in agreement with the findings of Esitken et al. (2006). Bacillus and Rhizobium associated with the plant rhizosphere are beneficial for plant growth, yielding and crop quality of 0900 Ziraat on Mazzard sweet cherry trees. Application of Pseudomonas and Bacillus strains can stimulate and increase growth and yield in Granny Smith and Star Spur Golden young apple trees (Aslantaº et al., 2007). Rozpara et al. (2014) also found that Humus UP, increased fruit yield in kg per tree of Ariwa apple cultivar, as compared to the control. REFERENCES Abou El-Yazied, A.M. and Sellim, A.S.M. (2007). Effect of reducing N, P mineral fertilization levels combined with bio fertilizer on growth, yield and tuber quality of potato plants. J. Agr. Sci. 32: Arsenault, J.L., Poulcur, S., Messier, C. and Guay, R. (1995). Win-rhizo a root-measuring system with a unique overlap correction method. Hort Sci. 30: 906. Aslantas, R., Çakmakçi, R. and Sahin, F. (2007). Effect of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria on young apple tree growth and fruit yield under orchard conditions. Sci. Hort. 111: Bashan, Y. and De-Bashan, L.E. (2005). Bacteria/ plant growth-promotion. In: Hillel, D. (Ed.), Encyclopedia of soils in the environment. 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