Effect of soil and foliar applied liquid bio-inoculants on flowering behaviour, yield and quality in African marigold grown under drip irrigation system

Abstract

The present investigation entitled “Effect of Soil and Foliar Applied Liquid Bio-inoculants on Flowering Behaviour, Yield and Quality in African Marigold Grown under Drip Irrigation System” was carried out at Centre of Excellence, College of Agriculture, Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalaya, Raipur, during the year 2022-23. The experiment was laid out in factorial randomized block design with 3 replications and 15 treatments. The results revealed that soil drenching of Phosphorous Solubilizing Bacteria @ 10% alone and foliar application of Azotobacter @ 2.5% alone and treatment combination T5 (SD1-PSB @ 10% + FS1-Azotobacter @ 2.5%) performed best with regards to early bud initiation, early 50% flowering, minimum number of days to full bloom, flower yield per hectare, flower diameter, fresh weight of flowers per plant, dry weight of flowers per plant and shelf life.