Physiological responses of clove seedlings applied with different microbial consortium in the rhizosphere and phyllosphere

Abstract

Abstract Rhizhosphere and phyllosphere serve as habitat for many kinds of plant-associated mikrobial. This study aims to determine the effect of application of microbial consortium in the rhizosphere and phyllosphere of clove seedlings on the plant physiological parameters. The study was conducted as a factorial experiment with two factors based on the randomized blocked design. Application of microbial consortium of Azotobacter sp., Lactobacillus sp., Bacillus subtilis, and Trichoderma sp. in the rhizosphere was set as the first factor, consisted of four levels, namely control (0 mL), 4, 6, and 8 mL. The second factor was the application of the microbial consortium of Gliocladium sp. and Beauveria bassiana in the phyllosphere consisted of four levels, namely control (0 mL), 2, 4, and 6 mL. The physiological parameters observed included observations on the components of leaf stomata, light intensity, and leaf chlorophyll. The resuls show that the best microbial consortium treatment that gave better physiological response of the clove seedlings was 8mL/plant in the plant rhizosphere, and 6mL/plant in the plant phyllosphere. However, there were no significant difference on the effect of the application of these microbial consortiums in the rhizosphere and the phyllosphere applied simultaneously compared to controls, meaning that the treatment application was 8mL/plant or 6mL/plants. Some influence directly and indirectly from the microbial consortium both in the rhizosphere and the phyllosphere was on the physiological parameters of the light and leaf chlorophyll components, but not significant for the stomata component.