Association Studies of Different Organic and Inorganic Fertilizers on Yield and Yield Attributes of Soybean (Glycine max L. Merr.) in Latur

Abstract

The increased demand for soybeans as a replacement crop has been one of the most significant economic motives for switching land from these crops to its production and pricing trends for the soy crop. Integrated Nutrient Management (INM) techniques, including organic and inorganic nutrient sources, are critical for conserving soil fertility and enhancing soybean output. The objective of the experiment was to find out the association analysis between yield and yield attributes of soybean. A field experiment was conducted during kharif season of 2019 at the Experimental Farm, Department of Agronomy College of Agriculture, Latur. The experiment was laid out in a randomized block design with nine treatments and replicated thrice. The treatments were T1 – 100 % RDF, T2 – 100 % RDF + FYM @ 5 t ha-1, T3 – 75 % RDF + FYM @ 5 t ha-1, T4 – 100 % RDF + FYM @ 2.5 t ha-1, T5 – 75 % RDF + FYM @ 2.5 t ha-1, T6 – 100 % RDF + Vermicompost @ 2.5 t ha-1, T7 – 75 % RDF + Vermicompost @ 2.5 t ha-1, T8 – 100 % RDF + FYM @ 5 t ha-1 + Vermicompost @ 1.25 t ha-1, T9 – 75 % RDF + FYM @ 5 t ha-1 + Vermicompost @ 1.25 t ha-1. Data on simple correlation between seed yield plant-1 (g) as the dependent variable and plant height (cm), number of branches plant-1, number of functional leaves plant-1, mean leaf area plant-1, total dry matter plant-1 (g), number of nodules plant-1, number of pods plant-1, Test weight (g) and oil content (%) as an independent variable were established. Results revealed that, positive and highly significant correlations were observed between seed yield plant-1 and plant height (0.909**), number of branches plant-1 (0.915**), number of functional leaves plant-1 (0.897**), mean leaf area plant-1 (0.931**), No. of branches plant-1 (0.935**), total dry matter plant-1 (0.813*), number of nodules plant-1 (0.971**), number of pods plant-1 (0.895**), Test weight (0.173) and protein content (0.702). The strong associations observed between key yield components, particularly the number of pods, nodules, and biomass—suggest that improving these traits through better agronomic practices, nutrient management, and selective breeding could significantly enhance overall crop performance.