Effect of rhizobium, different levels of NPK & micronutrient (Zn, Fe) on soil health, growth and yield attributes of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.)

Abstract

The Research Entitled “Effect of Rhizobium, different levels of NPK & Micronutrient (Zn, Fe) on Soil Health, growth, and yield attributes of Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.)” aimed to evaluate the influence of different combinations of different levels of N, P, K, Zinc, and iron on the soil health, growth, and yield attributes of the chickpea variety Pusa-362. The study was conducted at the Research Farm, Department of Soil Science, Prof. Rajendra Singh (Rajju Bhaiya) University, Naini, Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, during the Rabi season of 2024-2025, using a Randomized Block Design (RBD).The experiment included nine treatments: T1- Control, T2- (Rhizobium Inoculation + @50% RDF + Zn @ 50%), T3- (Rhizobium Inoculation + @50% RDF + Fe@ 50%), T4- (Rhizobium Inoculation + @ 50% RDF + Zn @ 50% +Fe @ 50%), T5- (Rhizobium Inoculation + @ 75% RDF + Zn@ 75%), T6- (Rhizobium Inoculation + @ 75% RDF + Fe @ 75%), T7- (Rhizobium Inoculation + @ 100% RDF + Zn @ 100%), T8- (Rhizobium Inoculation + @ 100% RDF + Fe @100%), T9 (Rhizobium Inoculation + @100% RDF + Zn @ 100%+ Fe @100%).Significant differences were observed across treatments for growth and yield parameters. Treatment T7 (Rhizobium Inoculation + @ 100% RDF + Zn @ 100%) showed the best performance in terms of plant height and no. of branches, with the highest plant height of 10.72 cm at 30 DAS, 23.82 cm at 60 DAS, 34.01 cm at 90 DAS, and 42.23 cm at harvest, number of branches per plant (2.87, 5.80, 7.6., 9.47). On the other hand, Treatment T9- (Rhizobium Inoculation + @ 100% RDF + Zn @ 100%+ Fe @100%) excelled in yield and yield attributes parameters, recording the highest no. of pods/plant (89.60), no. of seeds/pod (2.20), 100 seed index (28.87), yield kg/plot (0.516), yield q/ha. (12.90). It is also shown that the highest quantity of Available N (252.53 kg/ha), Available P (17.37 kg/ha), Available K (215.12 kg/ha), Zinc (0.445 mg), Iron (8.82 mg), pH (7.93), EC (0.438 dSm-1), and O.C (0.525%) was observed in Treatment T9 (Rhizobium Inoculation + @100%RDF + Zn@ 100%+ Fe @100%).