Abstract
Phosphorus is an essential plant macronutrient present in the soil. Only a small portion of phosphorus in soil is taken up by plants and the rest of it becomes unavailable to plants as it is immobilized. Phosphate solubilizing microorganisms play a vital role in converting the insoluble form of phosphates to the soluble form. The present paper reports the solubilization of tricalcium phosphate, rock phosphate, single super phosphate, zinc phosphate and aluminum phosphate by Piriformospora indica with the production of organic acids as well as acid phosphatase. The amount of phosphate released (4.73 mg ml–1) and titratable acidity (0.12%) was found to be the highest in the case of single super phosphate as compared to other phosphate sources. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) revealed the presence of oxalic acid, lactic acid, citric acid and succinic acid in the media. Highest phosphatase activity was observed with the cell membrane extract of the organism in the presence of zinc phosphate.