Described herein are two bacterial strains, designated as KGS-2 andKGS-8 which have been shown to solubilize soil phosphorus and to enhance thegrowth of plants. In addition to promoting solubilisation of phosphate fromsourcessuch as dicalcium phosphate, manure and potassium phosphate, KGS-2 and KGS-8also produce siderophore and indole-3-acetic acid (IAA).