Horticultural crops are rich in constituents such as proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals important for human health. Under biotic and abiotic stress conditions, rhizospheric bacteria are powerful sources of phytohormones such as indole acetic acid (IAA), gibberellic acid (GA), abscisic acid (ABA) and Plant growth regulators including cytokines, ammonia, nitrogen, siderophores, phosphate, and extra cellular enzymes. These phytohormones help horticultural crops grow both directly and indirectly. In recent agricultural practices, the massive use of chemical fertilizers causes a major loss of agricultural land that can be resolved by using the potent plant growth-promoting rhizospheric bacteria that protect the agricultural and horticultural crops from the adverse effect of phytopathogens and increase crop quality and yield. This review highlights the role of multifunctional rhizospheric bacteria in the growth promotion of horticultural crops in greenhouse conditions and agricultural fields. The relevance of plant growth hormones in horticultural crops highlighted in the current study is crucial for sustainable agriculture.

Highly nutritive and antioxidants-enriched okra (Abelmoschus esculentus) gets sub-optimal field yield due to the irregular germination coupled with non-synchronized harvests. Hence, the research aimed at assessing the combined impact of seed priming and field-level gibberellic acid (GA₃) foliar spray on the yield and post-harvest quality of okra. The lab studies were conducted using a complete randomized design (CRD), while the field trials were performed following a factorial randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. Okra seeds were subjected to ten different priming methods to assess their impact on seed germination and seeding vigor. In the premier step, okra seeds were subjected to ten different priming methods, like hydro priming for 6, 12, and 18 h, halo priming with 3% NaCl at 35 ℃, 45 ℃, and 60 ℃, acid priming with 80% H₂SO₄ for 2.5, 5, and 10 min. Based on the observation, hydro priming for 12 h exhibited the best germination rate (90%), followed by halo seed priming at 60 ℃ and acid priming for 5 min. Furthermore, the halo priming at 60 ℃ demonstrated the greatest seedling vigor index (1965), whereas acid priming for 5 min resulted in favorable outcomes in terms of early emergence in 2.66 days. In addition, varying concentrations of GA₃ (0, 100, 200, and 300 ppm) were also administered to the best three primed seedlings for evaluating their field performance. The findings indicated that applying GA₃ at a concentration of 300 ppm to seedlings raised through acid priming (80% H₂SO₄ for 5 min) resulted in improved leaf length, reduced time to flowering (first and 50%) and harvest, increased pod diameter, individual pod weight, and yield per plant (735.16 g). Additionally, the treatment involving GA₃ at 300 ppm with halo priming (3% NaCl) at 60 ℃ exhibited the longest shelf life (21 days) of okra with the lowest levels of rotting (6.73%) and color change (1.12) in the polyethylene storage condition.