Effect of liquid consortium of Azotobacter, phosphate solubilizing bacteria and potassium mobilizing bacteria on soil and plant nutrient status of custard apple (Annona squamosa L.) var. Phule Purandar

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted during Kharif Bahar 2024 at the All India Coordinated Research Project on Arid Zone Fruits (Fig and Custard Apple), Jadhavwadi, Pune, with laboratory analyses conducted at the Division of Plant Pathology and Agricultural Microbiology and the Division of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, College of Agriculture, Pune. to study the impact of a liquid consortium containing Azotobacter, Phosphate Solubilizing Bacteria (PSB), and Potassium Mobilizing Bacteria (KMB), integrated with varying levels of recommended fertilizer dose (RDF), on the soil and nutrient uptake parameters of custard apple. The experiment was laid out in Randomized Block Design (RBD) with ten treatments and three replications. Treatments included different combinations of RDF (100%, 75%, 50%) with or without the liquid consortium, alongside biofertilizer-only and control plots. The soil application of treatment T5 (100 % RDF + Liquid consortium of Azotobacter PSB and KMB @20 ml each per L water per plant) recorded maximum available soil nitrogen (250.87 kg/ha), phosphorus (54.48 kg/ha), and potassium (509.95 kg/ha) along with highest nutrient uptake (N: 88.20 kg/ha, P: 14.15 kg/ha, K: 76.45 kg/ha). Treatment T₆ i.e.75 % RDF + Liquid cons. of Azotobacter+ PSB + KMB @ 20 ml each per L water per plant followed closely with statistically comparable nutrient uptake values.