1Professor, Department of Agronomy, Tirhut College of Agriculture, Dholi, Muzaffarpur
2Chief Scientist, Department of Soil Science, RAU, Pusa, Bihar
3Assistant Professor, Department of Agriculture Economics, U.P. College, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, 221 002
Tirhut College of Agriculture, Muzaffarpur, Bihar, 843 121
*Corresponding author E-mail: indubhushanpandey@gmail.com
Online published on 6 January, 2016.
A field experiment was carried out during rainy (kharif) season for 4 consecutive years 2008 to 2012 at Dholi, Bihar to assess the effect of integrated nutrient management on productivity and profitability of pigeonpea [Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.] under rainfed condition. Plant height, yield indices, viz. branches/plant, pods/plant, 100-seed weight, leaf area index, fruiting efficiency (15.6%), grain (2.01 tonnes/ha.) and stalk yields, harvest index, protein content, water-use-efficiency (2.9 kg grain/ha/mm), production efficiency (8.3 kg/ha/day), NPK uptake, net returns (67.55 × 103/ha) and benefit: cost ratio (2.9) were significantly higher at recommended dose of fertilizer (RDF) than 50% RDF. Application of farmyard manure (FYM) 5.0 tonnes/ha besides increasing these indices significantly also enhanced nodules number and dry-weight/plant, Rhizobium and phosphate-solubilizing bacteria (PSB) count, phosphorus-solubilizing efficiency and acetylene reduction activity than no FYM. Seed inoculation with Rhizobium + PSB and Rhizobium + PSB + plant-growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) were found equally effective and significantly enhanced branches/plant and pods/plant, fruiting efficiency, grain and stalk yields, harvest index, production efficiency, NPK uptake, number and dry-weight of nodules/plant, Rhizobium and PSB count, phosphorus-solublizing and acetylene reduction activity, net return and benefit: cost ratio than uninoculated condition. Application of FYM 5.0 tonnes/ha together with 50% RDF resulted in significantly higher grain yield of pigeonpea (2.08 tonnes/ha) than RDF alone (1.90 tonnes/ha). Likewise, seed inoculation with Rhizobium + PSB (1.95 tonnes/ha) and Rhizobium + PSB + PGPR (2.02 tonnes/ha) fertilized with 50% RDF recorded similar grain yield to that of RDF alone (2.01 tonnes/ha). Application of RDF, FYM 5.0 tonnes/ha and seed inoculation with biofertilizers, increased organic carbon, available N, P and K contents and reduced the bulk density of the soil over compared with initial soil value.
Integrated nutrient-management, Phosphate-solubilizing bacteria, Pigeonpea, Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria, Production efficiency, Rainfed, Rhizobium, Water use-efficiency
