Vol. 12, Issue 5 (2023)

Author(s):
Kavya V, Jayaprakash R, Shankar M and Dileep R

Abstract:
A field experiment was conducted to study the “effect of potassium solubilizing bacteria (KSB) and foliar application of potassium on growth and yield of paddy (Oryza sativa) in coastal acid soils of Karnataka” during the Kharif 2021 at Zonal Agricultural and Horticultural Research Station (ZAHRS), Brahmavar, Udupi, KSNUAHS, Shivamogga. The experiment was laid out in Randomized Complete Block Design with eleven treatments replicated thrice. Among the eleven treatments, the treatment received with recommended dose of N and P₂O₅ + 75% K₂O + soil application of KSB @ 5 kg per ha + 2% KCl @ 30 and 60 DAT (T₁₀) has significantly recorded higher growth and yield parameters at harvest i.e., plant height (102.10 cm), number of tillers hill^-1 (22.90), total dry matter production (84.61 g hill^-1), panicle length (22.71 cm), panicle weight (4.23 g), number of filled grains panicle^-1 (119), total number of grains panicle^-1 (129), test weight (26.14 g), grain yield (5436 Kg ha^-1) and straw yield (7079 kg ha^-1) and the significantly lower values was recorded in recommended dose of fertilizer (60:30:60 kg ha^-1) + FYM @ 5 t ha^-1. The experiment demonstrates that the use of chemical fertilizers along with biofertilizers i.e., potassium solubilizing bacteria (KSB) has potential to save substantial amounts of inorganic fertilizers and significantly increase growth and yield of paddy under suitable management practices.