Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci (2020) 9(8): 1161-1168 1161 Original Research Article https://doi.org/10.20546/ijcmas.2020.908.128 Effect of Plant Growth Promoting Bacteria on Seed Germination, Seedling Vigor and Growth Lagenaria siceraria (Molina) Standl Navdeep Singh * and Daljeet Singh Vegetable Department, University College of Agriculture, Guru Kashi University, Talwandi Sabo (Punjab), India *Corresponding author ABSTRACT Introduction Bottle gourd [Lagenaria siceraria (Molina) Standl] is a vital cucurbitaceous crop grown for its fleshy fruits in tropical and subtropical regions (Desai et al., 2016). It's probably originated in Africa. Bottle gourd young fruits are edible, but the mature hollowed shells used as bottles, musical instruments, and floats for fishermen. Bottle gourd fruit crush is employed within the treatment of insanity, epilepsy, and other nervous diseases. Bottle International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 9 Number 8 (2020) Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas.com This scrutiny was conducted to ascertain the effect of plant growth-promoting bacteria on seed germination, seedling vigor and growth and Lagenaria siceraria (Molina) Standl. was conducted during Kharif season of 2018-2019, 2019-20 at the University Farm, University College of Agriculture, Talwandi Sabo, Bathinda (Punjab). The experiment was laid out in RBD design with three replications. The crops were sown in poly-bags with a capacity of 10 kg which is filled with mixture formaldehyde sterilized coarse sandy loam soil and poly-bags are arranged according to the treatments and at a recommended spacing of crops. Different strains of bacteria, Serratia marcescens MTCC 10241 + Bacillus subtilis MTCC7611 + Bacillus subtilis MTCC8141, were used alone, mixer as a bio-priming agent with RDF 50% and 100% in the field conditions. A total of seven treatments are crafted included control (water-soaked) treatment. The treatment RDF 50% + Serratia marcescens MTCC 10241 + Bacillus subtilis MTCC7611 + Bacillus subtilis MTCC8141 affects the vine length, number of nodes on the main axis, number of leaves, leaf area, days to first fruit set, and also the number of primary branches per vine in bottle gourd crop significantly from other treatments. The highest germination percentage and seedling vigor were obtained from RDF 100% + Serratia marcescens MTCC 10241 + Bacillus subtilis MTCC7611 + Bacillus subtilis MTCC8141 treatment in bottle gourd crop as compared to that of the other treatments. The results of this study showed that and RDF 100% + Serratia marcescens MTCC 10241 + Bacillus subtilis MTCC7611 + Bacillus subtilis MTCC8141 treatment maximize the germination percentage and seedling vigor. The treatment RDF 50% + Serratia marcescens MTCC 10241 + Bacillus subtilis MTCC7611 + Bacillus subtilis MTCC8141 has a great potential to increase growth parameters bottle gourd crop. Keywords Serratia marcescens, Bacillus subtilis, PGPR and bottle gourd Accepted: 15 July 2020 Available Online: 10 August 2020 Article Info