Vol. 12, Issue 6 (2023)

Author(s):
P Hareesh Babu, Dr. K Jaya Lalitha, Dr. B Sreekanth, Dr. M Suneel Kumar and Dr. Nafeez Umar

Abstract:
A field experiment was carried out during rabi season of 2021-22 on a sandy clay loam soil at the Agricultural College Farm, Bapatla to study the effect of plant growth promoting rhizo microorganisms on yield attributes and grain yield of maize (Zea mays L.) under water stress. The experiment was laid out in split-plot design with three water stress treatments (M₁- Irrigated crop (i.e., no stress was given), M₂- water stress at knee high stage and M₃- water stress at reproductive stage) as main plot and six bio-inoculant treatments (S₀: Control, S₁: VAM @ 12.5 kg ha^-1, S₂: PSB @ 5 kg ha^-1, S₃: Bacillus spp @ 5 kg ha^-1, S₄: Azotobacter @ 5 kg ha^-1 and S₅: Azospirillum @ 5 kg ha^-1) as sub-plot treatments. Mean values for number of kernels per cob, cob length, cob girth and grain yield were highest with M₁ (no water stress) followed by M₂ (water stress at knee high stage) which were comparable with each other. With regard to bio-inoculant, mean values for number of kernels per cob, cob length, cob girth and grain yield were maximum with S₁ treatment (VAM @ 12 kg ha^-1). Hence, it can be concluded that water stress at knee high stage and application of VAM @ 12 kg ha^-1 is an effective and sustainable way to enhance the yield attributes and grain yield of maize and the negative effects of drought stress can be mitigated.