Effect of biofertilizer and nano urea on growth and yield of oats (Avena sativa L.)

Abstract

The field experiment was conducted during the Rabi season of 2024 at the Crop Research Farm, Department of Agronomy, Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences, Prayagraj (U.P.), to evaluate the effect of biofertilizer and nano urea on the growth and yield of oats (Avena sativa L.). The experimental soil was sandy loam in texture with a neutral reaction and a pH of 7.5. The study was laid out in a randomized block design (RBD) with ten treatments, each replicated three times. The experimental treatments included various combinations of biofertilizer and nano urea: T1 - Azotobacter @ 25 g/kg seed + Nano urea @ 2 ml/L, T2 - Azotobacter @ 25 g/kg seed + Nano urea @ 3 ml/L, T3 - Azotobacter @ 25 g/kg seed + Nano urea @ 4 ml/L, T4 - Phosphate Solubilizing Bacteria (PSB) @ 25 g/kg seed + Nano urea @ 2 ml/L, T5 - PSB @ 25 g/kg seed + Nano urea @ 3 ml/L, T6 - PSB @ 25 g/kg seed + Nano urea @ 4 ml/L, T7 - Azotobacter (25 g) + PSB (25 g) per kg seed + Nano urea @ 2 ml/L, T8 - Azotobacter (25 g) + PSB (25 g) per kg seed + Nano urea @ 3 ml/L, T9 - Azotobacter (25 g) + PSB (25 g) per kg seed + Nano urea @ 4 ml/L, and T10 - Control (RDF 100-40-40 NPK kg/ha. Results revealed that the significantly superior performance in terms of plant height (127.06 cm), number of tillers per m² (373.67), plant dry weight (25.73 g), spike length (34.74 cm), spike weight (5.49 g), number of grains per spike (121.60), grain yield (2.77 t/ha), and straw yield (5.96 t/ha) were recorded in treatment 9 with the application of [Azotobacter (25 g) + PSB (25 g) per kg seed + Nano urea @ 4 ml/L].