Use Biofertilisers For Yield Enhancement In Pulses: PAU

Ludhiana, April 23, 2015: Microbial preparations containing sufficient numbers of effective propagules of microorganisms, are known to be an effective supplementary source to help meet the nutrient requirement of crops, said Dr Parampal Sahota, Department of Microbiology, Punjab Agricultural University (PAU).

In pulses- the Rhizobium mediated symbiosis is a unique feature which not only helps to meet the nitrogen requirement of the host plant but also helps to restore soil fertility, she observed. Besides Rhizobium, a number of other beneficial bacteria viz. Pseudomonas, Bacillus, etc.- called plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR), play a pivotal role in stimulating plant growth and yield due to their positive plant-microbe interactions, she said.

In pulses, PAU has recommended Rhizobium based biofertilizers ‘Rhizobium teeka’ for mungbean, soybean, pigeonpea, lentil, chickpea, fieldpea, berseem and lucerne, she informed. “Experiments conducted over the years exhibited that Rhizobium treatment to the seed increased grain yield by 12-16% in mungbean, 10-12% in lentil and fieldpea, 8-10% in chickpea and soybean and 5-7% in pigeonpea,” she revealed. Fungicide and Rhizobium treatment can be applied simultaneously to the seed, she said. Further, Dr Sahota said application of microbial consortium containing Rhizobium and plant growth promoting rhizobacteria enhances the yield by 3-5%, over Rhizobium application alone in chickpea and lentil. She informed the formulation being sold by the PAU Department of Microbiology is charcoal based and one packet is sufficient for planting seed of 1 acre of a specific pulse crop. The application technology is simple and economical wherein ‘teeka’ is mixed with seed of a specific pulse crop before sowing, she highlighted.

Dr Sahota further highlighted, “The PAU recommended consortium biofertilizers for maize, wheat, sugarcane, onion, potato and turmeric crops increase crop yield and improve soil health.” The consortium biofertiliser is applied @1/2 kg/acre in maize and wheat whereas in sugarcane, onion, potato and turmeric, it is applied @ 4kg/acre. She informed the biofertilizers are available in Department of Microbiology, PAU, Ludhiana.