Efficacy of Trichoderma harzianum and AM fungi on ber (Ziziphusmauritiana Lamk.) cv. Seo based agri-horti system in central India

Present study was conducted in four years-old well established ber based agri-horti system in central India aiming to assess whether use of chemical fertilizer can be reduced with the help of incorporating bio-inoculants (Trichoderma harzianum and AM fungi). The experiment comprised of ten treatments viz., T1-ber (100% recommended dose of fertilizer (RDF)), T2-ber (100% RDF) + sesame-lentil, T3-ber (75% RDF), T4-ber (75% RDF) + sesame-lentil, T5-ber (75% RDF) + AM fungi, T6-ber (75% RDF) + AM fungi + sesame-lentil, T7-ber (75% RDF) + T. harzianum, T8-ber (75% RDF) + T. harzianum + sesame-lentil, T9-ber (75% RDF) + AM fungi + T. harzianum + sesame-lentil and T10-sesame-lentil. Ber plants were planted in randomized block design with three replications having six plants in each treatment at the spacing of 6×8 m. The variations in observations recorded on different characters (plant growth, pruned material and fruit) of ber were found non-significant, except fresh pruned material (kg plant⁻¹), number of fruits and fruit yield (kg plant⁻¹), and found significantly higher in treatment T7, T1 and T8, respectively in the year 2014–15 whereas during 2015–16, different plant growth and fruit traits were influenced significantly, except canopy spread and pulp/stone ratio. In most of the cases, T8 was found significantly higher. Observations on sesame and lentil revealed that the T10 and T6 recorded highest seed yield during both the years and was significantly higher with respect to other treatments. Maximum land equivalent ratio was recorded in T8 during both the years. Soil analysis revealed that all the treatments had better soil test values than control at 0–15 and 15–30 cm soil depth. The treatments containing AM fungi and Trichoderma have shown pronounced effect on available phosphorus. Conclusively, use of Trichoderma has shown potential to save 25% chemical fertilizer for achieving attractive yield in ber based agri-horti system thus reducing cost of fruit production and protecting health of consumer.