Effect of biofertilizers on the growth of Solanum nigrum under pot condition

Solanum nigrum (L.) is commonly called as Black Nightshade and it belongs to the family Solanaceae. It is widely used in oriental medicine. It is an antitumorigenic, antioxidant, antiinflammatory, hepatoprotective, diuretic and antipyretic. The sustainable cultivation techniques using biofertilizers not only improve the production but also maintain the soil fertility status and also protect the agro ecosystem from degradation. Bio-fertilizers are microbial inoculants consisting of living cells of microorganism like bacteria, algae and fungi alone or combination which help in increasing crop productivity. The present study focuses the individual inoculation of Azospirillum, Pseudomonas and AM Fungi on the growth of Solanum nigrum under pot condition. In general, seedlings inoculated with Azospirillum individually and in combination with other biofertilizers had better growth and biomass. The Azospirillum inoculants increased the shoot length, root length, collar diameter biomass content, Number of leaves and branches of treated plants than the control (non-inoculated). The Azospirillum was found to be the most effective bioinoculant on growth, biomass and quality seedling production of Solanum nigrum.