5. Conclusions
The seed endophytic bacterial strains (E. hormaechei BHUJPCS-15
and E. cloacae BHUJPCS-21) and its consortia have the
potentiality to improve the soil health and yield of chickpea crops.
This research work is a preliminary study on chickpea seed endophytes as
plant growth promoting agent in pot and field conditions. Overall, we
have provided an empirical evidence for the presence of chickpea seed
endophytic microbiome and demonstrated that these microbes and its
consortia have a number of plants growth and soil health and fertility
inducing traits and it support the theory of the co-evolution of host
and its core microbiota. These two isolates were seed endophytes and
upon re-introduction with its host seed enhanced its growth and soil
health to helpful for soil conservation by re-charging of this
indigenous strain. This microbial seed endophytic consortium is an
environment friendly, economically viable and socially acceptable that
means complete fulfil the sustainable development goal. This current
research study advocates that the use of seed endophytic microbial
consortia to improve nutrient content in soil, which also enhances plant
health and yield. We demonstrated that a useful seed endophytic
microbial consortium can increase the physiochemical property, nutritive
value of soil rhizosphere of plants whose intake or consumption could be
an effective way to improve the plant yield.