Biofertilizer is a relatively safer, environmentally friendly and cost-effective approach as an alternative to reduce chemical fertilizer usage. The selection of bacterial strains with multiple beneficial characteristics are important to maximize the effectiveness on the host plant. Due to a fore mentioned interest, several Plant Growth-Promoting Rhizobacterial (PGPR) and rhizobial strains were isolated from rice and legume roots. Six bacterial strains namely TS1, TS2, TP3, TP4, TR5, TR6 were obtained from surface sterilized healthy roots of rice and root nodules from groundnut. The isolates were tested for morphological and biochemical characteristics. The selected isolates were then tested for IAA production and other biochemical tests such as potassium solubilization, hydrolyzing enzymes (cellulase and pectinase) HCN and iron siderophore productions. The results of in vitro assays showed that all isolates can produce IAA, while three isolates (TS1, TS2 and TR5) fix N2 and (TP3 and TR5) solubilize phosphate and potassium; two isolates were positive for both tests. This study has successfully demonstrated the effectiveness of locally isolated PGPR and rhizobial strains with multiple beneficial characteristics. The result proved to be a vital information in the development of a liquid biofertilizer for rice and leguminous plants.
