1. AHSAN SALEEM - Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture and Environment, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur,
Pakistan.
2. MUHAMMAD AOWN SAMMAR RAZA - Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture and Environment, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Pakistan.
3. RASHID IQBAL - Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture and Environment, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Pakistan.
4. MUHAMMAD USMAN ASLAM - Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture and Environment, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Pakistan.
5. MUHAMMAD AHTISHAM TAHIR - Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture and Environment, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Pakistan.
6. QURBAN ALI - Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of the Punjab Lahore, Pakistan.
7. MUHAMMAD ASGHAR SHAHID - Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture and Environment, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Pakistan.
The limited water supply and increasing population are the main problems of the growing world. Water stress lowers wheat output. Various methods are needed to minimize the drought stress effects on plants. Ultra High Performance Liquid Chromatography was used to measure rhizobacterial auxin synthesis in vitro (UPLC). The analysis of crude extracts revealed the presence of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), indole-3- carboxylic acid (ICA), and indole-3-lactic acid (I3LA) (ILA). Hightest level of IAA (5.5 µg mol-1 ) was observed in strain Azosprillium lipoferum. In the wirehouse, a pot experiment was conducted to assess how PGPR affect the growth, physiological traits, and yield-related characteristics of wheat plants under conditions of drought stress.There are five treatments in the investigation. Inoculation of Azosprillium lipoferum, Bacillus megaterium, Agrobacterium fabrum, Pseudomonas moraviensis, and Alcaligenes faecalis . Drought conditions were imposed during the tillering, flowering, and grain filling periods. Results revealed that moisture stress at the grain filling stage significantly affects wheat's yield and related physiological traits. All PGPR strains had a positive impact in controlling drought stress in wheat. When compared to other PGPR strains, seed inoculation with PGPR Azosprillium lipoferum yielded the best results, increasing the number of spikelets per spike, the number of grains per plant, 1000 grain weight, and grain yield per plant up to 25%, 22%, 32%, and 49% respectively.
Drought Tolerant, Wheat, PGPR, Growth Stages, Yield.