o:3336 Sustainable Forage Crop Production: Application of New Bacillus Isolates from Alfalfa Rhizosphere Soil en Abstract:The aim of the present study was to investigate the potential of the new Bacillus spp. isolates as promising plant growth promoters in alfalfa cultivation. As one of the most widely grown forage legumes in the world, yield and quality of alfalfa (Medicago sativa) are of great importance. A total of five obtained Bacillus spp. isolates were tested for plant growth promoting (PGP) traits and applied as single inoculant in alfalfa seed treatments in vitro. Isolates I1 and I2 showed all PGP traits (phosphate solubilization and production of indole-3- acetic acid and siderophores). Treatments of alfalfa seeds with five tested isolates induced increase in shoot and root length, compared to the control. The highest shoot and root length of alfalfa seedlings was resulted by seed inoculation with I3 and I1 inoculums, respectively. The results of this study highlight the potential of rhizosphere soil to harbor beneficial bacterial strains that could be exploited for PGP of a broad range of plants. Bacillus spp.; PGP bacteria; seed germination; seedling shoots and roots; Medicago sativa 1552099 10.61463/ijset.icafip-2023.101 1552102 https://www.ijset.in/icafip-2023-proceeding/ 2023-11-24T08:34:27.067Z 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 Nataša Rasulić Institute of Soil Science 0000-0003-2807-0775 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 887565 https://unilib.phaidrabg.rs/o:3336 no yes 1 70 92000004 71A05 Proceedings of the International Journal of Science, Engineering and Technology 2023