Effects of Plant Growth Promoting Bacteria on Canopy Cover of Rangelands in Eastern Region of Turkey

This study was conducted on high-elevation rangelands of Erzurum, Turkey, between 2011 and 2014 for four year. The aim was to determine the effects of Plant Growth Promoting Bacteria (PGPBs) applications on rangeland canopy cover ratio. PGPBs strains (Pseudomonas fluorescens T26, Pantoea agglomerans 16B, Paenibacillus polymyxa TV-12E, Bacillus cereus TV-30D, and Bacillus megatherium TV-3D) used in this study were obtained from the culture collection unit in the Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture at Atatürk University, Erzurum, Turkey. Four study year results showed that PGPBs treatments had significant effects on the canopy cover of rangelands. The highest canopy cover ratio occupied was in treatment T21 (50 kg N ha-1+25 kg P2O5 ha-1+B. megatherium. TV-3D). There was a significant difference between treatments T21 and the other treatments, while the lowest was in treatment T14 (50 kg N ha-1+B. cereus TV-30D). In plots of P. polymyxa TV-12E, P. fluorescens T26, and B. megatherium TV-3D bacteria strains plus half of N+P fertilizer, the canopy cover was higher than that of the other treatments.