Enhancing wheat growth under chromium toxicity using gibberellic acid and microbial inoculants as modulating agents

Chromium (Cr) is a highly toxic heavy metal that can negatively impact crop yield and food quality by causing chlorosis and reduced root and shoot growth. To address this issue, rhizobacteria has emerged as a viable and safe technology. Additionally, gibberellins (GA3) can act as allied factors for regulating various physiological processes in plants, particularly cell division and elongation under Cr stress. That's why the current study aimed to investigate the individual and combined effects of gibberellic acid (GA3) application and biofertilizer (Agrobacterium fabrum) in alleviating chromium toxicity in wheat. The treatments included two concentrations of chromium (Cr): 300Cr (300 mg Cr/kg soil) and 600Cr (600 mg Cr/kg soil), as well as the application of gibberellic acid (GA3 = 5 mg/L solution) with and without biofertilizer, i.e., A. fabrum. Results showed that the addition of GA3 + A. fabrum showed a significant increase in shoot fresh weight (~ 13%), shoot dry weight (~ 90%), root fresh weight (~ 76%), root dry weight (~ 88%), root length (~ 39%), shoot length (~ 18%) over control (no GA3 and No A. fabrum). In conclusion, GA3 + A. Farum is a better treatment for mitigating Cr toxicity in soil. More investigations are suggested at field levels under different cereal crops to declare GA3 + A. fabrum as the best treatment for alleviating Cr adverse effects on crops. Future research should focus on field-level investigations across cereal crops to validate GA3 + A. fabrum as the best treatment for alleviating Cr adverse effects on different crops and exploring its potential for integration into sustainable agricultural practices.