2.7. Seed bacterization
Wheat seeds var. HUW 234 was obtained from Banaras Hindu
University, Agriculture farm, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India and
surface sterilized (0.1% HgCl2for 2 min and rinsed five times with
sterilized water). Pure cultures ofB. megaterium, A. chlorophenolicus
andEnterobactersp. were grown in nutrient agar for experiments.
A single colony from each strain was transferred into a 50 mlflask,
containing nutrient broth and grown aerobically inflasks overnight
on a rotating shaker (200 rpm) at 301C. Bacteria grown on nutrient
broth were then diluted with sterile distilled water, containing
0.025% Tween 20 to afinal concentration of 10
7
CFU ml
1
.For
treatments, seeds were placed at a bacterial suspension of 10
7
CFU
(colony forming unit) ml
1
along with sticker solution (2.5 g gum
acaciaþ5 g sugar in 100 ml distilled water) for 30 min before
sowing