A Malian native plant growth promoting Actinomycetes based biofertilizer improves maize growth and yield Amadou Hamadoun Dicko 1 & Amadou Hamadoun Babana 1 & Adounigna Kassogué 1 & Rokiatou Fané 1 & Djeneba Nantoumé 1 & Djeneba Ouattara 1 & Kadia Maiga 1 & Sognan Dao 1 Received: 29 May 2017 /Accepted: 5 April 2018 # Springer Science+Business Media B.V., part of Springer Nature 2018 Abstract This study was carried out to evaluate the effect of Actinomycetes with Plant growoth promoting activity on the growth and yield of maize. This allowed the selection of three Actinomycetes: Actinomycetes sp. H7, O19 and AHB12 for their ability to solubilize phosphates, fix atmospheric nitrogen, and produce antimicrobial substances, enzymes, phytohormones and for their high vigour index. Five seeds, previously sanitized, inoculated and coated, were sown per pot. The best isolates selected in greenhouses were tested in station experiments. In pot, the inoculated seeds, with Actinomycete sp. H7 gave the best growth in plant size, 19.3% more compared to the uninoculated control (P ≤ 0.05). In station experiments, it was found that Actinomycete sp. H7 significantly increased the fresh and dry biomass of the aerial part with 919.7 g and 405.6 g, respectively, against 636.70 g and 297.36 g respectively for the control. The best yield of seeds was obtained with the combination O19-AHB12 with a yield of 311.5 g for 1000 seeds compared to 178.28 g for the uninoculated control. All corn seeds inoculated showed better growth than controls. These results confirm the value of the PGPRs and above all open a way for the formulation and the use of biofertilizers based on PGPRs in Mali. Keywords PGPR . Microbial biofertilizer . Plant growth . Maize yield 1 Introduction Maize (Zea mays L.) occupies an important place in agricul- tural production systems in the agro-ecological zones of Mali. It is one of the main cereals involved in the diet of populations in Africa. Although maize is a food crop, it is also a cash crop (IITA 2011). In Mali, maize production results has resulted in a decline in soil fertility and increased numbers of plant pests and dis- eases. To minimize these negative impacts farmers have turned to chemical fertilizers and pesticides that are harmful to farmers, consumers and the environment. In addition, because of the rising price of oil, artificial fertilizers are less accessible to small family producers because of their high prices. Therefore production increases must be achieved through improving soil fertility. Soil organic matter and soil microorganisms are recognized by many researchers as key factors in maintaining crop productivity (Sompong et al. 2006; Babana et al. 2013). Among the microorganisms used as biofertilizers there is a group of bacteria called BRhizobacteria^. Some of these bac- teria promote the growth of plants and protect them against pathogens. They are called BPGPR^ (Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria). These bacteria and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (CMA) have great potential to be used as bioinoculant in agriculture and horticulture to improve crop yield (Azcon 2000; Noumavo et al. 2013; Dicko and Verma 2014). Rhizobacteria actively colonize plant roots and improve their growth and yield (Wu et al. 2005). Numerous attempts have been made to replace harmful chemical fertilizers with biofertilizers in order to obtain a high quantity and quality yield (El-Kholy et al. 2005). The first PGPR effects on seeds were observed with Pseudomonas spp. In California and Idaho, Burr et al. (1978) obtained a statistically significant increase in potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) yield from 14% Presented at the 17th African Association of Biological Nitrogen Fixation (AABNF) Biennial Conference, Gaborone, Botswana, 17–21 October 2016. * Amadou Hamadoun Dicko ahdicko@laborem–biotech.com 1 Laboratory of Research in Microbiology and Biotechnology Microbial, Faculty of Sciences and Techniques, BP.E3206, Bamako, Mali Symbiosis https://doi.org/10.1007/s13199-018-0555-2