Vol. 10, Issue 12 (2021)

Author(s):
Mangesh Raut, Sunita J Waghmare and DP Deshmukh

Abstract:
Chilli (Capsicum annuum L.) is a popular vegetable and spice crop. It is an essential and indispensible item in every kitchen because of its pungency and spicy taste, also green Chilli is rich source of vitamin A and C. After green revolution modern agriculture is mostly relied on utilization of high yielding seeds combined with high doses of chemical fertilizers. Continuous indiscriminate and imbalance use of chemical fertilizers results in environmental pollution by damaging soil and water resources. In the present study, fifteen Azotobacter and five phosphate solubilizing fungal (PSF) isolates were isolated from Chilli rhizosphere of Kolhapur District. All isolates were identified on the basis of morphological, cultural, microscopic features and different biochemical tests. The results of yield parameters revealed that the treatment T9, 100% RDF + commercial Azotobacter + commercial PSF, showed the highest number of flowers (55.29 / plant), number of fruits (41.30 / plant), length of fruit (7.13 cm) and green Chilli yield (24.50 t/ ha) was on par with treatment T5, 100% RDF + Efficient Azotobacter + Efficient PSF i.e. number of flowers (53.85 / plant), number of fruits (40.02 / plant), length of fruit (6.53 cm) and green Chilli yield (22.02 t/ ha). Whereas, highest dry matter weight (104.04 g), available N (178.75 Kg/ha), P (22.03 Kg/ha) and K (187.22 Kg/ha) was showed by treatment T9, 100% RDF + commercial Azotobacter + commercial PSF which was on par with treatment T5, 100% RDF + Efficient Azotobacter + Efficient PSF i.e. dry matter weight (99.73 g), available N (176.66 Kg/ha), P (21.59 Kg/ha) and K (186.40 Kg/ha) in soil after harvest.