VRUSHALI G. GADEKAR, MADHUKAR KHETMALAS AND BALU KAPADNIS
Abstract
Whey is produced in huge amount in dairy industries and its disposal requires large amount of capital investment. In the present study, whey is utilized for screening and propagation of acidophilic actinomycetes and Pseudomonas. It has been observed that the selected organisms have potential to utilize whey ingredients and it may further be utilized as a low cost media. These isolates were also screened for Indole 3-acetic acid production. Maximum 6.41 mg L-1& 11.2 mg L-1 of IAA was produced with Streptomyces sp. KKE & P. aeruginosa strain LK7 respectively. Whey was further utilized for development of bioinocula with selected plant growth promoting microorganisms. Effect of the prepared bioinocula was studied on plants like Arachis hypogia and Sorghum bicolor. Significant increase with some parameters was observed. The present study will help to know the use of whey as growth media for indole-3-acetic acid producing microorganisms.