Studies on the effect of bioinoculants and micronutrients on growth, flower yield, quality and shelf life of African marigold (Tagetes erecta) grown under walk-in tunnel

Abstract

The present investigation entitled “Effect of bioinoculants and micronutrients on growth, flower yield, quality and shelf life of African marigold (Tagetes erecta) under walk-in tunnel conditions” was conducted at the Centre of Excellence, Protected Cultivation and Precision Farming, College of Agriculture, Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalaya, Raipur (C.G.) during the Rabi season of 2024-25. The experiment was laid out in a Factorial Randomized Block Design comprising 12 treatment combinations with two factors, replicated three times. The treatments included four levels of soil drenching-no drenching (SD₀), PSB 10% (SD₁), KSB 10% (SD₂), and ZSB 10% (SD₃)-and three levels of foliar application-no spray (FS₀), ZnSO₄ 0.2% (FS₁), and FeSO₄ 0.2% (FS₂).The results revealed that the application of bioinoculants and micronutrients significantly influenced all growth, yield, and quality parameters. Among the treatments, soil drenching with PSB 10% and foliar spray of ZnSO₄ 0.2% individually showed notable improvement in plant growth and flowering traits. The combined treatment of PSB 10% × ZnSO₄ 0.2% (SD₁xFS₁) performed superior for most vegetative and flowering parameters, while KSB 10% × ZnSO₄ 0.2% (SD₂xFS₁) recorded the highest flower yield and shelf life. Overall, soil application of PSB and foliar application of ZnSO₄ were found to be most effective for enhancing growth, flower yield, quality, and shelf life of African marigold under protected cultivation.