Effect of Different Liquid Biofertilizers on Growth, Yield and Economics of Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.)

Abstract

Chickpea plays a crucial role in food security providing essential nutrients, achieving optimal yields and profitability remains challenging due to nutrient deficiencies, suboptimal soil health, and the environmental impact of chemical fertilizers. Biofertilizers, which contain beneficial microorganisms like Rhizobium and Phosphorus-solubilizing bacteria (PSB), Potassium solubilizing bacteria (KSB), Azospirillum, Pseudomonas, and EM culture offer a sustainable choice by boosting nutrient uptake and soil fertility status. Pre-sowing seed treatment using different biofertilizers has shown promise in enhancing chickpea productivity by increasing growth and development. This study was conducted in Randomized Block Design with three replications at the Student Instructional Farm, Chandra Shekhar Azad University of Agriculture and Technology, Kanpur during Rabi 2023-24 and 2024-25. Various growth, yield and economic parameter recordings have been taken and assessed through statistical analysis.  It has shown that dual inoculation with Rhizobium and phosphate-solubilizing bacteria (PSB) enhanced crop growth thereby, increasing seed yield per plant followed by an inoculation with just PSB and then Rhizobium culture. This resulted in a grain yield boost of 15.27 – 18.16% whereas a net monetary return of ₹86083.90ha-1 when the control treatment only gave ₹69739.36 ha-1 reducing the dependency on the chemical fertilizers, contributing to a more sustainable agricultural practice.