Effect of liquid bio-inoculants and fertilizer levels on growth and yield of African marigold (Tagetes erecta L.) cv. Calcutta

Abstract

The present investigation on effect of liquid bio-inoculants and fertilizer levels on growth and yield of African marigold (Tagetes erecta L.) cv. Calcutta was carried out at Experimental Farm, Department of Horticulture, VNMKV, Parbhani during 2017-18. The experiment was laid out in Factorial Randomized Block Design with twelve treatments comprising of four levels of RDF (60%, 80%, 100% and 120%) and bio-inoculants viz., Azotobacter, PSB and Azotophos. The results revealed that the vigorous growth in terms of plant height (65.66 cm) number of branches per plant (15.00), number of leaves per plant (276.67), plant spread (54.66 cm2) and maximum flowering duratition (100.00) was noted significantly in plants treated with 120% RDF+Azotophos. However, minimum days for first flower bud initiation (50.00) minimum days for flowering (58.00) and maximum yield per hectare (15.56 t) were recorded by plants treated with 120% RDF + PSB. Bio-fertilizers along with chemical fertilizers found beneficial for vigorous growth and better yield of plant in African marigold.