Fig. 4

Promotion of Jatropha biomass growth. Jatropha seedlings were inoculated by leaf spraying, planted in large pots and maintained in the open air. Sterilized and non-sterilized garden soil was used in Trail I and II, respectively. Values are mean ± standard deviation (SD). a Plant height; b relative chlorophyll content; c number of leaves; d stem volume; e pink-pigmented facultative methylotrophic bacteria population; f leaf-associated bacteria. Asterisk means significant difference at 5 % threshold between treated and control using DMRT. NS not significant