PGPR Suppresses Herbivore Attacks and Promotes The Growth Of Common Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.)

Abstract

Plant defense against herbivores can be constitutive or inducible. One of these defense inducers is a group of rhizobacteria known as PGPR. In general, apart from stimulating plant growth, PGPR can induce systemic resistance to pathogens and herbivores in many crops. Therefore, in this study, we tested the ability of PGPR from elephant grass Pennisetum purpureum to increase the defense of the common bean Phaseolus vulgaris L. against herbivores. The research was carried out using a randomized complete block design (RCBD), consisting of five of treatments each repeated five times. The data has been analyzed using analysis of variance, and further tests with the LSD test at the 5% level. The results showed that the application of PGPR at a concentration of 20 mL-1 could significantly reduce the intensity of insect herbivore attacks on leaves and pods. Apart from that, PGPR has also increased plant growth, both plant height and number of leaves, accelerated the flowering phase, and increased pod weight per plant. It can be concluded that giving PGPR to common bean plants can improve growth performance and increase defense responses against herbivores.