Assessing the role of Plant Growth-Promoting Bacteria (PGPB) in salt stress tolerance of tomato crop: a global meta-analysis
Plant and Soil, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Derleme
- Basım Tarihi: 2026
- Doi Numarası: 10.1007/s11104-026-09046-w
- Dergi Adı: Plant and Soil
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, BIOSIS, CAB Abstracts, Chemical Abstracts Core, Environment Index, Geobase, Academic Search Ultimate (EBSCO), Natural Science Collection (ProQuest), Biological Science Database (ProQuest), Biomedical Reference Collection: Corporate Edition (EBSCO), Engineering Source (EBSCO)
- Anahtar Kelimeler: Bioinoculants, PGPB, Rhizobacteria, Salinity, Tomato
- Eskişehir Osmangazi Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
Aims: Soil salinity is a major abiotic stress limiting tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) productivity worldwide through osmotic stress, ionic toxicity, and oxidative damage. Plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) have emerged as a sustainable strategy to enhance crop tolerance to salinity, although reported effects vary among studies. This global meta-analysis aimed to quantitatively synthesize evidence on the effects of PGPB inoculation on tomato performance under salt stress. Methods: Following PRISMA guidelines, data were compiled from 49 peer reviewed studies published between 2004 and 2025 across 19 countries, yielding 1,089 observations from 110 experiments. Effect sizes were calculated using log response ratios and analysed using three level random effects models with cluster robust variance to evaluate PGPB effects under saline conditions. Results: Overall, PGPB inoculation significantly improved tomato growth, physiology, antioxidant defence, and ionic homeostasis under salinity. Biomass traits increased consistently, along with leaf area and photosynthetic pigments. Antioxidant activity increased while malondialdehyde content and electrolyte leakage declined. PGPB inoculation also reduced Na⁺ accumulation and enhanced K⁺, N, P, Ca, and Mg availability. Both Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria were effective, with no significant difference between them, and Bacillus and Pseudomonas showed the most robust growth promotion. Conclusions: This meta-analysis provides quantitative evidence that PGPB inoculation is an effective and environmentally sustainable approach for improving tomato salt stress tolerance, supporting its potential use in climate-resilient production systems in salt-affected regions.