EFFECT OF DIFFERENT LEVELS OF PHOSPHORUS AND BIOFERTILIZERS ON YIELD, UPTAKE AND MICROBIAL ACTIVITY OF FINGER MILLET (ELEUSINE CORACANA)

Abstract

A study entitled was conducted during summer 2025-26 at Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Siksha O‘ Anusandhan (Deemed to be University), Bhubaneswar, Odisha to study the Effect of different levels of Phosphorus and Biofertilizers on growth, yield, uptake and microbial activity of Finger millet (Eleusine coracana) in Lateritic soils of Odisha‖. The study was conducted in laboratory using laterite soil collected from experimental field. The experiment was laid out in randomized block design (RBD) with three replications, and it consisted of the following nine treatments. In the soil phosphorus applied in two levels i.e., 75% and 100% inoculated with biofertilizers like phosphorus solubilizing bacteria (PSB) and vascular arbuscular mycorrhiza (VAM) was applied in different combination of treatments in the soil. In this study, it was observed that Treatment T9 (100% RDP + PSB + VAM) consistently outperformed other treatments. It recorded the highest soil pH (7.12), soil EC(0.16dSm-1), OC(0.75%), nitrogen (248.06 kg/ha), phosphorus (31.47 kg/ha), potassium (181.84 kg/ha). T9 also showed maximum nutrient uptake, including nitrogen (83.53 kg/ha), phosphorus (18.4 kg/ha), and potassium (76.84 kg/ha). Growth parameter such as plant height, root length of plant, leaf area index, chlorophyll content, tillers per m2 (315), dry matter accumulation(41.46) ,test weight(3.16g/1000seeds) were significantly higher in T9 compared to the control treatment T1. The yield parameters such as highest grain yield (30.36q ha-1), highest Biological yield (93.34 q ha-1), highest Strover yield (66.44q ha-1), highest Harvest index(32.48%), was observed in T9. The highest protein content found in T9 (7.63) followed by T6(7.56). In case of microbial population (46.84 CFU g-1), PSB population (33.13 CFU g-1), Dehydrogenase activity (135.02 µg TPF g/day) found highest in T9 compared to the control (T1), which consistently recorded the lowest values across all parameters. These results highlight the critical role of phosphorus fertilization and biofertilizer integration in improving crop performance. Overall, the findings demonstrate that integrated nutrient management, particularly the combination of RDP, PSB, and VAM (T9), significantly enhanced soil fertility, plant growth, and yield attributes compared to the control. This study underscores the importance of adopting biofertilizers as sustainable strategies to improve nutrient availability, enhance biomass accumulation, and increase protein content, thereby contributing to higher productivity and soil health in crop production systems.