Effects of Rhizobium, PSB Inoculation and Phosphorus Management on Soil Nutrient Status and Performance of Cowpea in Acid Soil of Arunachal Pradesh, India

Abstract

An investigation was carried out to study the effects of Rhizobium, PSB inoculation and phosphorus management on soil nutrient status and performance of cowpea at College of Horticulture and Forestry, CAU, Pasighat during pre-kharif seasons of 2017. The present study shows the effects of Rhizobium, PSB in single and duel combination with or without P2O5 on cowpea. The results of these experiment reveals that duel inoculation with fertilizer (P2O5) significantly increase plant growth parameters viz. Plant height, number of green leaves, branching, plant biomass, etc., yield attributes, green pod yield, soil available N, P, K status and root nodulation. It is concluded duel inoculation along with P2O5 fertilizer (PSB + Rhizobium + 40 kg P2O5) is 34 % better than duel inoculation without phosphatic fertilizer for improving pod yield of cowpea. Application of biofertilizer (PSB and Rhizobium) along with 40 kg P2O5 also improves root nodulation and Rhizobium population in soil. It was observed that the nutrient availability to the crop without breaking the sustainability of the soil can be increase only by combined application biofertilizers (PSB and Rhizobium) along with phosphatic fertilizers.