Sodium alginate-microencapsulation of Bacillus cereus MH1 reduced chemical fertilizer dependency in maize (Zea mays)

NUR AQIELA KAMARUDIN (Faculty of Plantation and Agrotechnology, Universiti Teknologi MARA. Cawangan Melaka, Kampus Jasin, 77300 Merlimau, Melaka, Malaysia)
NUR MAIZATUL IDAYU OTHMAN (Faculty of Plantation and Agrotechnology, Universiti Teknologi MARA. Cawangan Melaka, Kampus Jasin, 77300 Merlimau, Melaka, Malaysia)
DARIUS EL PEBRIAN (Faculty of Plantation and Agrotechnology, Universiti Teknologi MARA. Cawangan Melaka, Kampus Jasin, 77300 Merlimau, Melaka, Malaysia)
AZHAN HASHIM @ ISMAIL (Faculty of Applied Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA. Pahang, 26400 Bandar Tun Abdul Razak Jengka, Pahang, Malaysia)
WAN ZURAIDA WAN MOHD ZAIN (Faculty of Plantation and Agrotechnology, Universiti Teknologi MARA. Cawangan Melaka, Kampus Jasin, 77300 Merlimau, Melaka, Malaysia)
NOR HAFIZAH ZAKARIA (Faculty of Science and Marine Environment, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu. 21030 Kuala Nerus, Terengganu, Malaysia)
ALI TAN KEE ZUAN (Department of Land Management, Faculty of Agriculture, Universiti Putra Malaysia. 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor , Malaysia)
NURUL MAYZAITUL AZWA JAMALUDIN (Crop Production Program, Faculty of Sustainable Agriculture, Universiti Malaysia Sabah. Locked Bag No. 3, 90509 Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia)

Biodiversitas Journal of Biological Diversity
Vol. 27 No. 9 (2026)

Abstract. Kamarudin NA, Othman NMI, El Pebrian D, Ismail AH@, Zain WZWM, Zakaria NH, Zuan ATK, Jamaludin NMA. 2026. Sodium alginate-microencapsulation of Bacillus cereus MH1 reduced chemical fertilizer dependency in maize (Zea mays). Biodiversitas 27 (9): d270905. https://doi.org/10.13057/biodiv/d270905. Maize (Zea mays) relies heavily on chemical inputs, which may harm soil health and the environment. This study evaluated the effectiveness of sodium alginate-encapsulated Bacillus cereus (isolate MH1) (Accession No. NR_074540.1) as a fertilizer for reducing chemical fertilizer dependency in maize cultivation. The experiment was conducted using a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with four treatments and three replications: unfertilized control (T0), a 100% NPK fertilizer (5 g NPK 15:15:15) (T1), encapsulated PGPR alone (5 g) (T2), and an Integrated Nutrient Management (INM) treatment consisting of (2.5 g NPK + 5 g encapsulated PGPR) (T3). The encapsulated biofertilizer contained approximately 1.0 x 108 CFU/g viable cells. Plant growth, yield performance and soil nutrient concentration status were evaluated over three months. Results showed that T3 significantly improved chlorophyll content (47.33), fresh root weight (312.33 g), root length (37.40 cm), yield weight (240.93 g), cob diameter (11.30 cm), calcium concentration (8644 mg/kg), and magnesium concentration (3024.67 mg/kg) compared with the control at p<0.05. The integrated treatment (T3) produced maize growth and yield comparable to the full chemical fertilizer treatment (T1), indicating that an integrated treatment of reduced NPK and encapsulated PGPR can achieve results similar to the full rate of NPK fertilizer. These findings demonstrate that sodium alginate-encapsulated B. cereus MH1 has strong potential as a sustainable biofertilizer and provides a practical framework for integrating microbial biotechnologies into sustainable agriculture, aligning with the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of life on land. However, the absence of a 2.5 g NPK-alone treatment in this experimental design limits the ability to isolate the specific contribution of PGPR to integrated management in T3.