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.