Abstract: Rhizosphere competitive colonization is of significance in the applications of soil beneficial microbes as biofertilizer, biopesticide, phytostimulator and bioremediator. The competitive colonization of bacteria in plant rhizosphere is a complicated process, and the factors affecting the colonization are complex and numerous. This paper reviewed the biotic factors involving in the competitive colonization, including the traits controlled by bacterial genes, e.g., flagella/motility, chemotaxis, polysaccharide, site-specific recombinase/phase variation and NADH dehydrogenase, and the root exudates and plant species, as well as the abiotic factors affecting the colonization, such as soil type, soil property, and soil temperature. The future research directions on the competitive colonization of beneficial bacteria in plant rhizosphere were also discussed.

Key words: Adenophora potaninii population, Root system biomass, Growth and development, Habitat conditions