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Due to the increasing need for food security across the world, it has become urgent to develop a combination of different agricultural inputs that can enhance higher crop productivity under plant growth limiting environment. Thus, the effects of a cellulose decomposing bacterium ( Geobacillus stearothermophilus  SSK-2018), humic acid, and wheat straw were evaluated on the growth of  Cucurbita pepo  L. (squash) under an arid land condition during a two-year (2020 and 2021) field trials. Laboratory analysis revealed that  G. stearothermophilus  SSK-2018 was a gram-positive bacterium capable of promoting plant growth by producing indole-3-acetic acid as well as enzymatic activities including cellulase, amylase, protease, gelatinase, and phosphatase. Consequently, the inoculation of SSK-2018 significantly increased ( P  ≤ 0.05) squash’s fresh stem, leaf, and root weights by 14.70%, 18.63% and 11.13%, respectively, compared to the uninoculated control. Humic acid significantly ( P  ≤ 0.05) increased fresh stem, leaf, and root weights by 78.78%, 62.5% and 63.74%, respectively, compared to the control. Wheat straw also significantly increased ( P  ≤ 0.05) fresh stem, leaf, and root weights by 52.68%, 30.32% and 42.30%, respectively, compared to the control. Furthermore, the combinations of the treatments, including humic acid and straw, SSK-2018 and straw, and humic acid, SSK-2018 and straw, significantly increased the growth of squash. Soil properties including bulk density, moisture content, and basic cations were also significantly ( P  ≤ 0.05) improved by humic acid, SSK-2018 and wheat straw. This study suggests that like NPK, bio-organic treatments including SSK-2018, humic acid and straw, can equally improve plant’s fresh stem, leaf, and root weights as well as soil’s bulk density, moisture content, and basic cations (K + , Ca 2+ , Na + , and Mg 2+ ). Therefore, the present study recommends the continuous use of bio-organic amendments to achieve a sustainable improvement in plant growth and soil properties under arid land conditions. However, the continuous use of soil bio-organic amendments should be regularly monitored for potential increase in greenhouse gas emissions that may be at par with that of N fertilizers.

Effect of a cellulose decomposing bacterium, humic acid, and wheat straw on Cucurbita pepo L. growth and soil properties