The main objective of this paper was to test the specificity of plant growth- promoting rhizobacteria isolated from P. taeda on other pinus species (P. elliottii, P. oocarpa and P. caribaea hondurensis). The rhizobacteria isolates UFV-AL9, UFVAM5, UFV-AM2, UFV-F3, UFV-G2, UFV-G4, UFV-Z1, UFV-F6 and UFV-X2 were directly applied on the seedling sowing substrate. At 150 days of sowing, seedling root and aerial part dry matter weight, as well as Dickson's quality index were evaluated. Significant interactions among strains and different pine species were observed. Aerial part and root dry matter varied according to the strain and pine species, but generally the highest averages were presented on P. taeda seedlings. When inoculated with UFV-Z1 and UFV-AM5 strains, the P. taeda presented significant differences for all variables. For P. elliottii, seedlings inoculated with strains UFV-X2, UFV-G2 and UFV-AM5 and with UFV-AM5 also showed a significant increase in the aerial part and root biomass, respectively. Strain UFV-AM5 did not show specificity for these variables in two of the four analyzed species (P. taeda and P. elliottii).
Pinus taeda; Pinus elliottii; Pinus caribaea var. hondurensis
