Studies on combined application of bacterial and fungal bioinoculants on growth and yield of blackgram

Abstract

Field experiments were conducted during Kharif, and Rabi, 2019 at National Pulses Research Centre, Vamban with an objective to assess the performance of fungal and bacterial bioinoculants on growth and yield of blackgram var VBN 6. Blackgram seeds were treated with the bacterial bioinoculants viz., Rhizobium, PGPR and phosphobacteria and the fungal biofertilizer (Arbuscular mycorrhizae) was applied in soil. Observations viz., nodule number, root length and shoot length were made on 45th DAS and yield parameters were recorded during harvest. The standard bacterial biofertilizers viz,. Rhizobium (BMBS 47) & phosphobacteria and fungal biofertilizer; Arbuscular Mycorrhiza (Vermiculite based culture) were procured from the Department of Agrl. Microbiology, TNAU, Coimbatore and PGPR (Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria) was obtained from NPRC, Vamban and used for the study. The results revealed that, combined application of Rhizobium + phosphobacteria (seed treatment @600g/ha) and AM fungi (soil application @ 50 kg/ha) had a profound influence on growth and yield attributes of blackgram. The same treatment recorded higher yield of 1251 kg/ha. From the study, it was evident that the combined application of Rhizobium, phosphobacteria and AM fungi enhanced the yield of blackgram by 11% over the standard practice (T3) and hence the biofertilizers remains as a promising key for enhancing the production of pulse crops.