Journal of Agroecology and Natural Resource Management Print ISSN: 2394-0786, Online ISSN: 2394-0794, Volume 2, Number 2; April-June 2015 pp. 121-124 © Krishi Sanskriti Publications http://www.krishisanskriti.org/janrm.html Bacterial Remediation of Yamuna River Water and its Impact on Seed Germination in Vitro Nupur Raghav 1 and J.N. Srivastava 2* 1,2 Microbiology Laboratory, Department of Botany, Dayalbagh Educational Institute, Dayalbagh, Agra-282005, India E-mail: 1 Abstract—In the growing awareness of relationships between human health and water pollution, it is essential to undertake regular monitoring and surveillance of important aquatic ecosystems. The present study deals with the assessment of physico-chemical parameters of untreated and bacterial consortium treated water and its effect on the growth of Cajanus cajan and Vigna radiata in vitro. The bacterial consortium treated water increased the germination percentage, shoot length, root length, shoot biomass and root biomass while in untreated water a significant decrease of growth was noticed. Among the different concentrations (25 %, 50 %, 75 % & 100 %) of Yamuna river water, 25 % concentration of untreated water & 100 % concentration of bacterial consortium treated water sample showed stimulatory effect on the seed germination & other growth parameters of Cajanus cajan and Vigna radiata over control. The observation revealed that the inoculation of bacterial consortium in water may release the nutrients through biodegradation of the organic/inorganic matter of water sources, which promote the plant growth. Keywords: Bacterial consortium; Cajanus cajan; Germination percentage; Seedling growth; Vigna radiata; Yamuna River water nupurraghav690@gmail.com 1. INTRODUCTION The increasing global population is widening the gap between the supply and demand for water and is reaching alarming level that in some parts of the world it is posing a threat to human existence. The quality of wastewater effluents is responsible for the degradation of receiving water bodies, such as lakes, rivers, streams. The rapid industrialization is accompanied by both direct and indirect adverse effect on environment. The rate of contamination of natural water bodies increases with increased industrialization [1]. Wastewater may be treated by physiochemical or biological methods, biological treatment is preferred over physicochemical as the former is cost effective, efficient and environmentally friendly [2, 3]. According to World health organization (WHO), the mortality rate of water associated diseases exceeds five million people annually with microbial intestinal infections accounting for more than 50 % [4]. River Yamuna is one of the most polluted rivers of India. Pollution levels in the Yamuna River water have raised, biological oxygen demand load has increased by 2.5 times between 1980 and 2000; from 117 tons per day in 1980 to 276 tons per day in 2005. The Yamuna River has been reduced to a small stream, draining industrial effluents, sewage, dirt and other toxic substances. The concept of Effective Microorganisms was developed by Japanese horticulturist Teuro higa from the University of Ryukyus in Japan. He reported in the 1970s that a combination of approximately 80 different microorganisms is capable of positively influencing decomposing organic matter such that it reverts into a life promoting process [5]. However, in biological treatment, the microorganisms degrade the organic pollutants using them as a carbon source to produce metabolic energy to survive. The effects of various industrial effluents, sludge materials and metal elements on seed germination, growth and yield of crop plants have captivated the attention of many workers [6-8]. The objective of this study was to isolate and identify bacteria from Yamuna River water and evaluate their remediation potential for use in germination and seedling growth of Cajanus cajan and Vigna radiata in vitro. 2. EXPERIMENTAL PROTOCOL Sample Collection The water samples were collected in pre-sterilized BOD bottles, from the river Yamuna situated in the city of Taj - Agra, India. The wastewater sample was then preserved at low temperature (4⁰C) before commencement of the experiment. Isolation and Identification of Bacterial Isolates The bacterial isolates present in the Yamuna River water were isolated by Serial dilution (Pour-Plate) technique [9]. For the selected isolation of bacteria Nutrient agar media were used. Nutrient Agar medium was prepared by mixing Peptone-5 g, Beef extract-3 g, Sodium chloride-5 g, Agar-20 g, pH-7 in 1000 ml distilled water. After the incubation period the plates were observed for growth on the media [10]. When the colonies appear on agar plates, each one was sub cultured on a new agar plate until pure strains were obtained. The isolated bacterial cultures were identified on the basis of their morphological, physiological and biochemical characteristics features by Bergey’s Manual of Systematic Bacteriology [11].