Vol. 12, Issue 12 (2023)

Author(s):
AS Thite and DR Murumkar

Abstract:
A field trial was conducted to investigate the impact of seed inoculation with a combination of Rhizobium, PSB, and KMB on the growth parameters, nutrient absorption, and yield of chickpeas. Among various inoculation methods, the most effective was found to be seed inoculation with the Rhizobium, PSB, and KMB consortium along with 75% recommended dose of fertilizer (RDF). This treatment demonstrated significantly superior results, including the highest germination rate (97.46%), shoot length (16.53 cm), root length (7.45 cm), and plant vigor index (2336.68) at 15 days after sowing. Furthermore, it exhibited increased plant height (33.58 cm and 44.95 cm), root length (13.50 cm and 19.53 cm), shoot dry weight (7.75 g plant^-1 and 9.02 g plant^-1) and root dry weight (910.33 mg plant^-1 and 968 mg plant^-1) during the flowering and harvest stages of the crop. The treatment also resulted in higher numbers of branches (22.67 plant^-1), nodules (24.93 plant^-1), pods (55.47 plant^-1), 1000-seed weight (127.86 g), as well as increased NPK uptake (50.19, 13.73, and 24.30 kg ha^-1, respectively) and seed yield (20.48 q ha^-1) for chickpeas. Importantly, these outcomes were statistically comparable to the treatment involving seed inoculation with the consortium plus 100% RDF for the various growth parameters, nutrient uptake, and seed yield of chickpeas. The findings suggest a noteworthy 25% reduction in the application of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium doses from chemical fertilizers for chickpea cultivation.