Impact of nanochitosan and Bacillus spp. on health, productivity and defence response in Zea mays under field condition.

The role of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria along with nanochitosan on maize productivity remains unexplored. In the present study we report the effect of nanochitosan and PGPR on growth, productivity and mechanism(s) involved in defence response in Zea mays under field conditions. Application of nanochitosan (50 mg L-1) along with plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria enhanced seed germination, plant height, root length, leaf area, fresh and dry weight of shoot and root, chlorophyll, carotenoids, total sugar and protein content upto 1.5-2 fold over control in maize after 60 days of the field experiment. Treated maize plants also showed enhanced level of defence-related biomolecules like phenolic compounds (103%), catalase (60.09%), peroxidase (81.57%) and superoxide dismutase (76.50%) over control. Level of phenols and sugar content in maize plants enhanced which was analysed by GC-MS (Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry). Significant increase in cob length, cob weight/plot, grain yield/plot and 100 grain weight was observed in treated maize plants over control. As per the results, the combination of nanochitosan and plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria was reported to improve the health and yield of maize. The interaction can be further studied in field trials for improvement in agriculture production. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13205-021-02790-z. © King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology 2021.