Department of Agronomy, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar - 125 004, India.
A field experiment was carried out during winter seasons of 1996–97 and 1997–98 on a sandy loam soil, low in available nitrogen, medium in available phosphorus, rich in available potassium and slightly alkaline in reaction. The treatment combinations were comprised of six fertility levels viz., 0, 60, 90, 120, 150 kg N/ha and 10 t OM + 90 kg N/ha in main plots and four Azotobacter striilits namely, AC-4, AC-5, Mac-27 and control in sub-plots. The experiment was laid out in split-plot design and replicated thrice. The results revealed that increase in nitrogen levels upto 120 kg/ha caused a significant increase in growth parameters like plant height, leaf area index and dry matter accumulation and grain yield. The growth and grain yield were significantly higher with the application of 10 t OM + 90 kg N/ha over 120 kg N/ha but remained at par with 150 kg N/ha. The Azotobacter strains Mac-27 and AC-5 proved to be significantly superior to the other strains for growth parameters and grain yield of wheat.
