Abstract
The increasing salinization of cultivated soil worldwide has led to a significant reduction in maize production. Using saline-alkaline-tolerant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPR) in the rhizosphere can significantly improve the saline tolerance of maize and ensure the stability of maize yields, which has become a global research hotspot. This study screened salt-tolerant microorganisms Klebsiella sp. (GF2) and Pseudomonas sp. (GF7) from saline soil to clarify the mechanism in improving the saline tolerance of maize. In this study, different application treatments (GF2, GF7, and GF2 + GF7) and no application (CK) were set up to explore the potential ecological relationships between the saline tolerance of maize seedlings, soil characteristics, and microorganisms. The results showed that co-occurrence network and Zi-Pi analysis identified Klebsiella and Pseudomonas as core microbial communities in the rhizosphere soil of maize seedlings grown in saline soil. The deterministic process of microbial assembly mainly controlled the bacterial community, whereas bacteria and fungi were governed by random processes. The application of saline-alkaline-resistant PGPR under saline stress significantly promoted maize seedling growth, increased the activity of soil growth-promoting enzymes, and enhanced total nitrogen, soil organic carbon, and microbial carbon and nitrogen contents. Additionally, it reduced soil salt and alkali ion concentrations [electrical conductivity (EC) and exchangeable Na(+)]. Among them, GF2 + GF7 treatment had the best effect, indicating that saline-alkaline-tolerant PGPR could directly or indirectly improve the saline tolerance of maize seedlings by improving the rhizosphere soil ecological environment. EC was the determining factor to promote maize seedling growth under saline-alkaline stress (5.56%; p < 0.01). The results provided an important theoretical reference that deciphers the role of soil factors and microecology in enhancing the saline tolerance of maize.