Effect of bioinoculants on growth, flowering and yield of marigold (Tagetes erecta L.) Kumar Mukesh1,*, Pathak D V2 1Department of Horticulture, Regional Research Station, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Bawal, Rewari - 123501, Haryana 2Department of Microbiology, Regional Research Station, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Bawal, Rewari - 123501, Haryana *Corresponding author: sabharwalmk@gmail.com
Online published on 28 September, 2023. Abstract Excessive use of inorganic fertilizers degrades the soil, environment, quality of the produce, and adversely affects living beings. The experiment was planned to minimize the cultivation cost by use of bio-inoculants in marigold; which was conducted at CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Regional Research Station, Bawal (Rewari). The marigold seeds were sown in the nursery beds every year during the first week of October. About 25 days after sowing (DAS), seedlings were transferred to polybags, filled with field soil + farmyard manure (FYM) in 1:1 ratio. Just after transplanting, the seedlings were drenched with 1.0 ml of bioinoculants per plant with the concentration of 1x108 c.f.u./ ml. The observations on growth parameters were recorded 70 days after transplanting (DAT). On the basis of three years average data, maximum plant height (47.0 cm), plant spread (18.8 cm) and stem diameter (7.4 mm) were observed in HT-54 strain. The flowers were initiated earlier in SD-25 (57.7 days), this value was at par with HT-54, SD-97 and SD-99 treatments. However, maximum days taken to initiate the flowers (60.2 days) were recorded in control. Maximum biomass, shoot dry weight (6.60 g) and root dry weight (1.60 g) were also observed in HT-54. Total biomass was also recorded highest (8.20 g) in HT-54. Overall, basis, Azotobacter chrococcum, HT-54 was adjudged as the best, followed by Pseudomonas, P-36. Top Keywords Bioinoculants, Biomass, Flowering, Growth, Marigold (Tagetes erecta L.). Top |