Extraction of potassium from K-feldspar through potassium solubilization in the halophilic Acinetobacter soli (MTCC 5918) isolated from the experimental salt farm

•K-solubilizing promising halophilic bacterial strain isolated from the salt pan.•Molecularly identified strain Acinetobacter soli optimized for K-solubilization.•It exhibited 66–68% K (w/w) w.r.t. cdw and 10.67% K in the fermentation broth.•Sugarcane hydrolysate and wheat bran hydrolysate substituted for organic carbon.•It is the first report of A. soli for promising potassic biofertilizer technology.

Out of 81 isolated bacteria from salt pan of CSIR-CSMCRI's experimental salt farm with salinity range from 10 to 24 Be′, one of the promising bacterial strain identified as Acinetobacter soli showed potassium solubilizing potential of 66-68% (w/w) w.r.t. cell dry weight. It was further optimized with cost effective carbon source for K release in the broth itself which was 10.67% of K (with respect to the K-feldspar present in the broth) utilizing sugarcane baggase hydrolysate with production age of 120 h.

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