Soil salinity inhibits germination and seedling establishment, causing patchy crop stands, uneven growth, and poor yields. This study aims to evaluate the early-stage salinity tolerance of Brassicaceae seeds inoculated with plant growth-promoting bacterial (PGPB) strains (E1 and T7) isolated from saline soils. Non-inoculated and inoculated seeds of Lobularia maritima, Sinapis alba, and Brassica napus were cultivated under control and salinity conditions, first in agar plates to assess a germination inhibitory concentration of salt for each species and later in soil irrigated with water containing 0 or 75 mM NaCl. Our results indicate that T7 was the only strain able to increase the germination of L. maritima under saline conditions. However, an increase in shoot biomass, root length, and number of branches was observed in L. maritima and S. alba plants inoculated with T7 and in B. napus with E1. Concomitantly, those seedlings exhibited less oxidative damage and greater capacity to balance plant reactive oxygen species production. This study suggests that inoculation of seeds with halotolerant PGPB strains is a suitable strategy for improving the negative effects of salinity in the early stages. Nonetheless, the observed specific plant-host interaction highlights the need for establishing tailored PGPB-crop associations for specific unfavourable environmental conditions.

Copper (Cu) stress is a serious problem in contaminated soils that causes significant reduction in okra growth and production. To determine the toxic effect of Cu on okra plant and identify an effective way to mitigate Cu toxicity on okra, seeds of okra were inoculated with Bacillus subtilis and sown with farmyard manure. There were 13 treatments (T-0= Control, T-1= 400 mg kg(-1) of soil Cu, T-2= 400 mg kg(-1) of soil Cu+ B. subtilis, T-3= 400 mg kg(-1) of soil Cu+ FYM, T-4= 400 mg kg(-1) of soil Cu+ B. subtilis+ FYM, T-5= 450 mg kg(-1) of soil Cu, T-6= 450 mg kg(-1) of soil Cu+ B. subtilis, T-7=450 mg kg(-1) of soil Cu+ FYM, T-8=450 mg kg(-1) of soil Cu+ B. subtilis+ FYM, T-9=500 mg kg(-1) of soil Cu, T-10=500 mg kg(-1) of soil Cu+ B. subtilis, T-11=500 mg kg(-1) of soil Cu+ FYM, T-12=500 mg kg(-1) of soil Cu+ B. subtilis+ FYM) planned with the complete randomize design (CRD). Results of this research reveal that the okra production and soil physiological properties decreased with the addition of Cu in the soil, this is a new approach for sustainable crop production under Cu stress condition. 500 mg kg(-1) of Cu in the soil have the more negative effect on plant growth but negative effect of Cu can be control with the addition of B. subtilis and FYM. Combine application of B. subtilis and FYM improve the soil properties and plant growth by improving the microbial activities, nutrients availability in the soil and production of growth hormones.