Impact of biofertigation on growth and yield of banana cv. Ney poovan

Abstract

Banana requires large amounts of chemical fertilizers which are costly and can be hazardous to the environments when used excessively. Application of bioinoculants along with commercially available fertilizers in crop production can play a vital role in biological nitrogen fixation, synthesis of phytohormones, mineralization and release of nutrients when crop required at appropriate growth stages, nutrient use efficiency and minimum deleterious effects on soil fertility. A field experiment was conducted to gain information on the efficacy of bioinoculants along with commercial fertilizers on growth and yield of banana cv. Ney Poovan. The results revealed that among the different treatments, 100 % RDF along with Azospirillun and Pseudomonas fluorescens through fertigation followed by the treatment received 100 % RDF along with Azospirillun and Bacillus subtilis through fertigation recorded better values for growth and yield characteristics. Hence, the application of required nutrients through split application (weekly interval) along with PGPR (Pseudomonas fluorescens and Bacillus subtilis) at 3rd, 5th and 7th MAP registered better values in terms of growth and yield attributes rather than soil application of nutrients.