Halotolerant PGPR Enhances Growth and Floral Performance of Rosa chinensis Under Saline Stress
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.38211/joarps.2026.07.375Keywords:
Rosa chinensis, salinity stress, bacillus, pseudomonas, ornamental plants, floral qualityAbstract
Roses are susceptible to salinity stress, which has a substantial impact on their growth and the visual quality of their flowers. The growth and visual quality of ornamental plants are closely associated with their ability to tolerate abiotic stressors. In recent years, the use of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) has emerged as a potential strategy for improving the growth and quality of ornamental plants in stressful environments. Therefore, the present study was conducted to identify commercially available PGPR species that could be used to develop salt stress tolerance in ‘Surkha’ roses for commercial production. We evaluated three salinity levels (3, 5 and 7 dS m⁻¹ NaCl), applied alone or in combination with one of two PGPR genera. Compared with the corresponding non-inoculated treatments at the same salinity, inoculation with Bacillus spp. at 3 dS m⁻¹ produced a significant increase in leaf area and numerical improvements in several other growth and floral traits; effects of Pseudomonas spp. and of both genera at higher salinity levels were generally small and non-significant. The non-saline control generally showed the highest values for most traits. In conclusion, under the conditions of this single-season pot study, halotolerant PGPR (particularly Bacillus spp.) partially alleviated salinity effects on Rosa chinensis ‘Surkha’, most clearly for leaf area at mild salinity.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Usama Bin Arif, Saqib Ayyub, Shabana Ehsan, Tahir Saeed, Munawar Hussain Almas, Muhammad Faraz Anwar, Ahsan Akram, Muhammad Amjad Qureshi, Ifra Saleem
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