Enhancing groundnut growth and yield through nanophosphorus and microbial inoculants in coastal soil of different textures

To enhance the growth and yield of groundnut, the field experiments were conducted at farmers’ field in sandy clay loam texture of North Pichavaram village, Parangipettai block and sandy texture of Vanagiri village, Sirkali block during Rabi of 2022- 2023 using nanophosphorus and microbial inoculants. The treatments comprised of six levels of nanophosphorus (0, 200, 400, 600, 800 and 1000 ppm) and two microbial inoculants (Phosphorus Solubilizing Bacteria @ 5 kg ha⁻¹ (PSB) and Arbuscular Mycorrhiza (AM) @ 5 kg ha⁻¹ laid in randomized block design with eighteen treatment combinations with three replications. The growth parameters viz., plant height, chlorophyll content, dry matter production and pod and haulm yield were recorded. The outcome of the field experiments showed that nanophosphorus or microbial inoculants or both caused significant increase in growth and yield over control. The inoculation of AM @ 5 kg ha⁻¹ in conjunction with 1000 ppm of nanophosphorus registered maximum plant height (53.6 and 50.9 cm), dry matter production (5699.25 and 5049.52 kg ha⁻¹), pod (2921 and 2537 kg ha⁻¹) and haulm yield (3037 and 2651 kg ha⁻¹) in both sandy clay loam and sandy textured soils.