About 3-month-old Chrysanthemum plants were inoculated with 3 ml of PBS containing B. licheniformis SA03 or with 3 ml of PBS (as controls). After 10 days of co-culture, these plants were irrigated with sterile water containing 50 mM NaHCO3 and 50 mM Na2CO3 that allowed pH value of soils to reach approximate 8.2. After that, these plants were daily watered until plant tissues were harvested. Lastly, the harvested samples were used for various physiological and biochemical analyses.