Effect of Organic Manure and Biofertilizers on Seed Yield and Yield Attributes in Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.)

A field experiment was carried out during kharif season of 2010–2011 at experimental field of Seed Technology Research Unit, Dr. PDKV, Akola (MS) to study the effect of four soil treatments viz. FYM (20t ha⁻¹) + Rhizobium inoculation (5kg ha⁻¹), vermicompost (3t ha⁻¹) + Rhizobium inoculation (5kg ha⁻¹), green manuring (10t ha⁻¹) + Rhizobium inoculation (5kg ha⁻¹) and control (RDF) combination with seed treatments viz. No seed treatments, Trichoderma viride (2g kg⁻¹ of seed) and PSB treatment (25g kg⁻¹ of seed) on seed yield and yield attributes in groundnut variety TAG-24. The results revealed that the control treatment induced early flowering (21.33 days) and more plant height (38.4 cm) which matured early due to green manuring with Trichoderma seed treatment (93.33 days). However, the maximum no. of pods/plant (21.2), no. of seeds/pod (2.59), no. of seeds/plant (54.91), hundred seed weight (37.14 g), yield/plant (20.39 g), raw seed yield (25.08 q ha⁻¹) and graded seed yield (20.13 q ha⁻¹) were found superior due to application of vermicompost + Rhizobium in combination with Trichoderma seed treatment (F₂S₂). Vermicompost (3 t/ha) + Rhizobium (5 kg/ha) in combination with Trichoderma viride (2 g/kg of seed) seed treatment was most beneficial for enhancing yield and yield attributes of groundnut.