o:3169 Application of bacterial inoculants in soils with increased Ni concentration for orchardgrass yield enhancement en In accordance with the increasingly intense problems worldwide related to soil pollution with (potentially) toxic trace elements (TE), the aim of this research was to determine the possibility of increasing the yield of orchardgrass in soils with an increased concentration of Ni using Bacillus inoculants. In addition, there is limited data on phytoremediation potential of orchardgrass as well as how Bacillus spp. affects the plant growth in these stressful conditions. Two Bacillus strains Bacillus halotolerans Vig3NK2 and Bacillus megaterium DzK1Bh were selected for orchardgrass seed inoculation in a pot experiment. Strain Vig3NK2 was isolated from the rhizosphere of Medicago sativa L. while strain DzK1Bh was isolated from root nodules of Lotus corniculatus L. Pot experiment was carried out in three replications and three treatments (Ø: control-without inoculation, T1: inoculation with Vig3NK2 and T2: inoculation with DzK1Bh). Plants were collected two times during season. In the first cutting, the yield increased by 10.81% in the treatment T1 and 8.10% in the treatment T2, compared to the control treatment. In the second cutting, the yield increased almost twice as compared to the first cutting for both treatments. Both applied inoculants induced the increase in orchardgrass yield in soils with an increased concentration of Ni. The strain DzK1Bh proved to be more successful under these stressful conditions and its application and effects in field experiments will be the object of the future research. 1552102 https://iocag2023.sciforum.net/#session2754 2023-11-01T08:12:55.269Z 44 no 46 Aneta Buntić Institute of Soil Science 0000-0002-7068-1804 46 Mila Pešić Institute of Soil Science 0000-0001-7589-9100 46 Zoran Dinić Institute of Soil Science 0000-0003-4109-4106 46 Olivera Stajković-Srbinović Institute of Soil Science 0000-0001-9759-843X 46 Dušica Delić Institute of Soil Science 0000-0002-0626-0482 46 Mira Milinković Institute of Soil Science 0000-0001-5175-6842 46 Magdalena Knežević Institute of Soil Science 0000-0003-0186-3652 application/pdf 152212 https://unilib.phaidrabg.rs/o:3169 no yes 1 70 92000004 71A05 The 2nd International Electronic Conference on Agriculture Part of the 1st International Online Conference on Agriculture - Advances in Agricultural Science and Technology series 2023