Rakesh Sharma and M.L. Verma

Legume Res., 34 (4) : 251-258, 2011 AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH COMMUNICATION CENTRE www.arccjournals.com / indianjournals.com EFFECT OF RHIZOBIUM, FARM YARD MANURE AND CHEMICAL FERTILIZERS ON SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTION AND PROFITABILITY OF RAJMASH (PHASEOLUS VULGARIS L.) AND SOIL FERTILITY IN DRY TEMPERATE REGION OF NORTH- WESTERN HIMALAYAS Rakesh Sharma and M.L. Verma Dr. Y.S. Parmar University of Horticulture & Forestry, Krishi Vigyan Kednra, Kinnaur 172 107, India Received : 09-10-2010 Accepted : 01-09-2011 ABSTRACT Effect of using Rhizobium, farm yard manure (FYM) and inorganic fertilizers on plant growth, yield attributes, yield of rajmash and nutrient build up in soil was studied under field conditions. Rhizobium inoculation and application of FYM and chemical fertilizers had significantly increased the plant height, number of pods per plant, number of seeds per pod, yield and net returns over controls. Application of K @ 30 kg ha -1 along with recommended dose of fertilizers significantly increased the yield of rajmash by 34.8% and the observed response in terms of seed yield was 21.6 kg per kg of K applied. Highest growth, yield attributes and seed yield were recorded with application of 40 kg N ha -1, 60 kg P ha -1 and 30 kg K ha -1, with an increase of 58.8% in yield over recommended dose of fertilizers. Maximum net returns (Rs 78,705) was also recorded under the same treatment. The yield of 3270 kg ha -1 was observed in the interaction treatment in which Rhizobium inoculated seeds were used in conjunction with 5 t FYM and 40 kg N, 60 kg P and 30 kg K ha -1. Maximum soil organic carbon (13.5 g kg -1 ) and the highest available N, P, K contents (380, 98, 230 kg ha -1, respectively) were observed under the combined use of Rhizobium and FYM along with chemical fertilizers (40 kg N, 60 kg P and 30 kg K ha -1 ) after completion of the experiment, which indicated the build up of available soil nutrients over other treatments including recommended dose of fertilizers. Keywords : Rhizobium, FYM, Inorganic fertilizers, Rajmash, Growth attributes, Yield attributes, Yield, Net returns, Soil fertility. INTRODUCTION Among different agro-climatic zones of Himachal Pradesh, the dry temperate zone has assumed greater importance owing to favourable conditions for growing different cash crops such as apple, pulses especially rajmash (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), and off-season vegetables. Because of quality and better tastes of the produce of the crops grown in this region, the dry temperate zone is considered as the major producer and exporter of apple, rajmash and green pea and fetches premium price in the super markets in the other parts of the state and the country. This region lies 1800 m above mean sea level and the total rainfall is 200-300 mm during summer and moderate to heavy precipitation in the winter in the form of snow. However, the productivity of rajmash is very low due continuous cultivation without use of external sources of nutrients or sub-

252 LEGUME RESEARCH optimal doses of nutrients applied in imbalanced ratio. Despite the fact that the economy of the farmers in cold desert and dry temperate regions is mainly dependent on apple farming followed by cultivation of rajmash, attention has not been paid to increase their productivity. Scanty information is available on integrated nutrient systems for cold deserts grown vegetable crops (Sharma et al. 2005; Parmar 2009). Additionally, reports on balanced integrated nutrient management in rajmash crop are completely lacking. The present investigation was undertaken to have a detailed account of integrated effect of bio-fertilizer (Rhizobium), organic manure (FYM) and chemical fertilizers in enhancing overall productivity and profitability of rajmash under dry temperate Himalayan conditions. MATERIALS AND METHODS The experiment was conducted during the summer seasons of 2007 and 2008 at KVK farm, Sharbo (2150 m above mean sea level, 31 o 53 99" N latitude and 78 o 27 72" E longitude) Distt. Kinnaur. The soil (Typic Udorthents) was sandy loam in texture. Important physical and chemical properties of soil were: bulk density 1.03 Mg/ m 3, ph 7.8 (1:2.5 soil to water suspension); organic carbon 8.5 g/kg; and available N, P and K 290, 70.5 kg/ha and 211 kg/ha, respectively. The treatments comprised of two levels of Rhizobium [without inoculation ( ) and with Rhizobium inoculation ( )], two levels of farm yard manure [no manure ( ) and FYM @ 5 tonnes/ ha ( )] and four fertilizer levels of NPK viz. absolute control, no chemical fertilizers ( ); 100% recommended dose of N and P ( ); Recommended dose of N and P + 30 kg K/ha ( ) and 200% N (40 kg N/ha) + Recommended P + 30 kg K/ ha ( ) in factorial randomized block design with three replications on rajmash cv. Baspa as test crop, sown in month of May during 2007 and 2008. The recommended practice (100% N and P fertilizers) for rajmash was 20 and 60 kg N and P per hectare, respectively without K and organic manure. The rajmash seeds were inoculated with Rhizobium culture before sowing. Seed treatment was done with charcoal based Rhizobium culture having 2.30 x 10 8 number of rhizobial cells per gram of carrier. The FYM was applied as per treatment. The FYM used contained 0.51% N, 0.17% P and 0.50% K. Full dose of FYM along with N, P and K as per treatment were applied as basal dose through Urea, single super phosphate and muriate of potash, respectively. The crop was raised following recommended package of practices under irrigated conditions. The row to row and plant to plant distance in rajmash was 30 and 7.5 cm, respectively. Growth and yield contributing characters were recorded at harvest. The soil samples were collected at the end of the experimentation to determine soil organic carbon, available N, P and K as per method given by Walkley and Black (1934), Subbiah and Asija (1956), Olsen et al. (1954) and Merwin and Peech (1951), respectively. The data were statistically analyzed as per procedure outlined by Gomez & Gomez (1984). The economics of different treatments was worked out based on prevailing market prices. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Effect of Rhizobium : Rhizobium inoculation significantly increased the plant height, pods per plant, seeds per pod and seed yield during both the years (Table 1). The average plant height, pods per plant, seeds per pod and seed yield under Rhizobium inoculation ( ) improved by 8.6, 16.0, 8.1 and 14.6%, respectively over control ( ). Higher plant growth, yield attributes and seed yield of rajmash under Rhizobium inoculation treatment may be attributed to increased nodulation and nitrogen fixation and production of secondary metabolites by the bacteria (Thakur et al. 1999). A maximum increase of 15.2% in seed yield was obtained by inoculation during the second year. The increase in seed yield during second year may be due to additive residual effect of the inoculation done in the previous year. Net returns comparison indicated an increase of 19.2% under inoculated treatment over control ( ).

Vol. 34, No. 4, 2011 253 Effect of FYM: There was significant influence of FYM application ( ) on plant growth, yield attributes and seed yield of rajmash over control ( ) during 2007 and 2008 (Table 1). Based on mean data, application of FYM increased the plant height, pods per plant, seeds per pod and seed yield by 21.9, 21.4, 11.1 and 27.5 %, respectively over control. The maximum net return (Rs 30,160) with an increase of 32.6% was obtained in (5 tonnes FYM ha -1 ) to over control (without FYM). The increased seed yield and net returns of rajmash with FYM treatment might be attributed to improved vegetative growth, better availability of nutrients, translocation of nutrients and dry matter accumulation during reproductive stage which in turn improved the yield attributes and thereby increased the seed yield (Sharma et al. 2003 and Singh et al. 2009). The beneficial effect of FYM on growth and yield attributes might be due to additional supply of plant nutrients as well as improvement in physical and biological properties of soil (Datt et al. 2003). It could also be attributed to the fact that after decomposition and mineralization, the FYM supplied available nutrients directly to plants and also had solubilizing effect on fixed form of nutrients (Sinha et al. 1981). Effect of Fertilizer levels: Plant growth, yield components and seed yield increased significantly with increasing level of N in combination of recommended dose of P and 30 kg K/ ha (Table 1). Significantly more number of pods per plant, seeds per pod and increased plant height were recorded with treatment (recommended dose - 20 kg N and 60 kg P ha -1 ) over control ( ). Application of recommended dose ( ) resulted in significantly higher seed yield over control. The corresponding increase in yield was 115.4% over control (without fertilizers). The findings were in agreements with the observations of Verma and Saxena (1995) and Parmar et al. 1999, who found higher yields of French bean with fertilizers. The higher yield might be attributed to better availability of nutrients at critical growth stages which facilitated improved crop growth, yield attributes and further translocation of nutrients and dry matter accumulation during reproductive stages which ultimately affected seed yield. Net returns of Rs 47, 850 under recommended dose ( ) was found significantly higher than control ( ). The K application to rajmash is not recommended in the state. But in the present investigation, integration of 30 kg K ha -1 along with recommended dose of N and P ( ) resulted significant increase in growth, yield attributes, seed yield and net returns of rajmash (Table 1). The K application increased seed yield and net returns in rajmash by 34.8 and 36.9%, respectively over recommended dose ( ). It could be concluded that fertilizers had significant influence on seed yield when K @ 30 kg K ha -1 was applied along with recommended dose of fertilizers (20 kg N and 60 kg P ha -1 ). Potassium application along with RDF had significant effect on rajmash yield over recommended dose and response in term of seed was 21.6 kg per kg of potassium used. The current finding necessitates the urgency for application of K along with recommended dose of N and P for enhancing the productivity of rajmash in the region. Continuous cultivation without potassium and FYM application might result in depletion of the nutrient pool and in future there would be greater chances of K deficiency in all the crops that are being grown in the region. The response of the crop to applied K in terms of increased seed yield was due to improved growth and yield contributing traits. Similar results were also reported by Rana et al. (2003). Maximum plant height, pods per plant, seeds per pod and seed yield of rajmash was recorded under 200% of recommended dose of N (40kg N ha -1 ) along with recommended dose of P and 30 kg K ha -1 ( ) which was significantly superior to (100% N & P + 30 kg K ha -1 ) treatment. Application of 40 kg N ha -1 resulted 6.81, 13.8, 4.0 and 17.9% higher plant height, pods per plant, seeds per pod

254 LEGUME RESEARCH Table 1 : Effect of Rhizobium, farmyard manure and fertility levels on plant growth, yield attributes and yield of rajmash. Treat- Plant height (cm) Pods per plant Seeds per pod Seed yield (kg ha -1 ) Net returns ment 2007 2008 Mean 2007 2008 Mean 2007 2008 Mean 2007 2008 Mean (Rs/ ha) 33.90 36.10 35.00 7.20 7.80 7.50 3.50 3.90 3.70 913 1007 960 24,000 37.20 38.80 38.00 8.40 9.00 8.70 3.90 4.10 4.00 1040 1160 1100 28600 CD 0.56 0.52 0.56 0.30 0.29 0.29 0.09 0.08 0.09 35 40 37 (P=0.05) 30.80 33.20 32.00 6.50 7.50 7.00 3.50 3.70 3.60 885 935 910 22750 38.00 40.00 39.00 9.30 9.70 9.50 3.90 4.10 4.00 1110 1210 1160 30160 CD 0.65 0.58 0.58 0.32 0.30 0.30 0.09 0.09 0.09 35 39 38 (P=0.05) 29.50 30.50 30.00 6.10 6.90 6.50 3.40 3.60 3.50 795 905 850 21250 39.90 42.10 41.00 10.50 11.50 11.00 4.10 4.90 4.50 1790 1950 1870 47850 45.50 48.50 47.00 12.00 12.60 12.30 4.70 5.30 5.00 2410 2630 2520 65520 49.40 51.00 50.20 13.10 14.90 14.00 4.80 5.60 5.20 2880 3060 2970 78705 CD 1.10 1.15 1.14 0.60 0.63 0.62 0.20 0.25 0.23 130 145 142 (P=0.05) Data in this table on plant height, pods/ plant, seeds/ pod, seed yield and net returns indicated the main effects of Rhizobium, FYM and fertilizers. The interaction effect of Rhizobium, FYM and fertilizers are given in the form of figure 1.

Vol. 34, No. 4, 2011 255 and seed yield of rajmash over (20 kg N and 60 kg P ha -1 ) treatment, respectively (Table 1). Net returns were also higher by 20.1% under over treatment. The increased yield and net returns could be attributed to the fact that N had significant influence on translocation of nutrients and dry matter accumulation during reproductive stage which in turn improved the yield attributes and ultimately seed yield (Sharma et al. 2003 and Singh et al. 2009). Interaction effects of Rhizobium, FYM and Fertilizer levels: Significant effect on seed yield of rajmash was observed with interaction effects of Rhizobium, FYM and fertility levels. Highest yield (3270 kg ha - 1 ) of rajmash was recorded under treatment followed by and (RDF) treatment resulted 1870 kg/ha and lowest (850 kg ha -1 ) observed under treatment (Fig. 1). Under Rhizobium x FYM (5 t ha -1 ) interaction ( ) treatment, 1250 kg ha -1 seed yield of rajmash was obtained. However, the treatments and increased seed yield of rajmash by 64.0 and 80.0%, respectively, over treatment, which is due to interaction effect of with and treatments respectively. Further an increase of 96.8% in seed yield was noticed under in comparison to treatment (Fig.1). Singh et al. (2009) also observed maximum grain yield of green gram with Rhizobium inoculated seed and fertilizers under temperate conditions of Jammu and Kashmir. With increment of fertilizer levels (NPK), Rhizobium and FYM application significantly increased the seed yield of rajmash. The and treatments produced 2650 and 2980 kg/ha seed yield of rajmash with an increase of 5.2 and 18.3 % over treatment (Fig.1). The seed yield was increased significantly further under treatment by 22.2% over treatment. Highest seed yield (3270 kg ha -1 ) of rajmash was Table 2 : Effect of integrated use of Rhizobium, farmyard manure and fertilizers on soil organic Carbon and available nutrients after completion of the experiment. Treatment Organic carbon (g kg -1 ) Available soil nutrients (kg ha -1 ) N P K 8.1 275 65 201 8.2 298 75 205 8.2 295 78 220 8.4 320 77 218 11.4 290 70 205 11.7 315 85 208 11.9 330 86 225 12.0 362 84 228 10.2 281 69 202 10.4 288 88 210 10.5 290 90 228 10.5 320 91 226 12.8 300 74 215 12.9 340 92 222 13.0 361 95 227 13.5 380 98 230 CD (P=0.05) 1.3 27.0 8.5 12.0

256 LEGUME RESEARCH recorded under treatment which was 7.9% higher over but at par with treatment (Fig.1). Parmar (2009) also noticed enhancement in productivity of pea with conjoint use of Rhizobium inoculated seeds, FYM and chemical fertilizers in soils of cold arid zone of Himachal Pradesh. Nutrient Build Up: It is evident from the data (Table 2) that build up of organic carbon and available N, P and K due to inoculation of rajmash with Rhizobium and application of organic manure and chemical fertilizers application over control ( ). Organic carbon Soil organic carbon content increased significantly in the plots that had conjointly received FYM, inoculation of seed with Rhizobium and chemical fertilizers than plots that had fertilized with chemical fertilizers alone (Table 2). The organic carbon contents of soil ranged from 8.1-13.5 g kg -1, being highest (13.5 g kg -1 ) in treatment and lowest (8.1 g kg -1 ) under treatment. The increase in organic carbon content might be attributed to addition of organic materials and better root growth. These findings are in consonance with the findings of Sharma et al. (2009). Available nitrogen The treatment maintained highest level of available nitrogen contents (380 kg ha -1 ) and lowest (275 kg ha -1 ) was recorded under absolute control ( ) treatment at the end of the experiment (Table 2). Different treatments maintained a little higher available N status than control ( ). However, interaction of Rhizobium x Manure x ( ) treatment increased available nitrogen content over recommended dose of fertilizers only by 27.5%. The - Without inoculation, -Rhizobium inoculation; - No manure, - Farmyard manure(5 t/ha); - control (no chemical fertilizers), - Recommended dose of fertilizers (N 20 kg & P 60 kg/ha), - Recommended dose of N and P + 30 kg K/ha, - 40 kg N/ha + Recommended P + 30 kg K/ha. CD (P = 0.05) = 220 Fig.1 : Interaction effects of integrated use of Rhizobium, farm yard manure and fertilizers on yield of rajmash (Phaseolus vulgaris L.). Mean data of two years used for generating the figure.

Vol. 34, No. 4, 2011 257 availability of N was seen more in the plots that had received conjointly FYM, Rhizobium inoculated seed along with chemical fertilizers. Significant build up of soil available nitrogen under treatment could be attributed to the direct addition of N through FYM and N fertilizers to the available pool of the soil along with increased activity of N fixing bacteria and increased organic N fraction of soil due to biochemical degradation and mineralization, thereby resulting in higher accumulation of N in soil as reported by Miller et al. (1987) and Singh et al. (2009). Parmar (2009) also noticed enhancement in available N content of soil with the use of FYM, Rhizobium inoculated seeds of pea and chemical fertilizers in soils of cold arid zone of Himachal Pradesh. Available phosphorus The available P in soil was significantly higher in plots that received FYM as well as NPK than in the plots which had received recommended dose of nutrients through chemical fertilizers only (Table 2). The available phosphorus content in soil ranged between 65 to 98 kg ha -1, highest (98 kg ha - 1 ) under treatment and lowest (65 kg ha -1 ) was recorded under treatment (Table 2). Different treatments maintained slightly higher available P status than absolute control ( ). However, the treatment enhanced available phosphorus content over (recommended dose of fertilizers) by 30.7%. The increase in available P content of soil might be due to the incorporation of organic manure, chemical fertilizers and direct addition of P as well as solubilization of native P through various organic acids. These findings were in agreement with the observations of Singh et al. (2009). Higher soil P status might also be due to lower utilization of P by the crop from applied source, which resulted in building up of higher soil P status (Prasad 1994). Available potassium Available potassium content of soil varied significantly due various levels of Rhizobium and organics in combination with inorganic fertilizers (Table 2). Interaction of Rhizobium x manure x ( ) treatment recorded the highest (230 kg ha - 1 ) and lowest (201 kg ha -1 ) available K was observed under absolute control ( ). The treatments ( ), ( ), ( ), ( ), ( ) and ( ) showed a negative balance of soil available K. The negative balance of soil available K under these treatments could be attributed to higher removal of K by the crop than its addition to the soil. Rest of the other treatments maintained higher status of soil available K. The treatment registered an increase in available potassium content of soil over recommended dose of fertilizers to the extent of 11.8%. The increase in available K status might be attributed to the beneficial effect of organic manure through addition of K by FYM and chemical fertilizers to the available pool of the soil. Sharma et al. (2003) also recoded higher contents of available K under conjoint use of organics and fertilizers than the sole use of fertilizers under high hills dry temperate conditions of North- Western Himalayas. Results of study indicated that conjoint use of Rhizobium and FYM along with chemical fertilizers increased the plant growth, yield components, seed yield and net returns in rajmash over recommended dose of fertilizers or sole use of Rhizobium, farmyard manure and fertilizers. It could be concluded that fertilizers had significant influence on seed yield when K @ 30 kg/ha was applied along with recommended dose of fertilizers (20 kg N and 60 kg P ha -1 ) and response in term of seed was 21.6 kg per kg of potassium used. The current finding necessitates the urgency for application of K along with recommended dose of N and P for enhancing the productivity of rajmash in the region. Significant improvement was noticed in soil fertility as the contents of organic carbon, available nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium were significantly higher where Rhizobium and farmyard manure applied jointly with chemical fertilizers over other treatments. It is thus concluded from the study that the productivity and profitability of rajmash in dry

258 LEGUME RESEARCH temperate region of North- Western Himalayas could be enhanced and sustained through inoculation of seed with Rhizobium, in conjunction with application of FYM (5 t ha -1 ), fertilizer nitrogen (40 kg ha -1 ), phosphorus (60 kg ha -1 ) and potassium (30 kg ha -1 ). REFERENCES Dutt N, Sharma R. P. and Sharma, G. D. (2003). Effect of supplementary use of farm yard manner along with chemical fertilizers on productivity and nutrient uptake by vegetable pea (Pisum sativum var arvense) and build up of soil fertility in Lahul Valley of Himachal Pradesh. Indian J. Agric. Sci. 73: 266-68. Gomez, K. A. and Gomez, A. A. (1984). Statistical Procedures for Agricultural Research, John Wiley and Sons. New York, USA. Merwin, H. D. and Peech, M. (1951). Exchangeability of soil potassium in sand, silt and clay fractions as influenced by nature and complementary exchangeable cation. Soil Science Soc. Amer. Proc. 15: 125-28. Miller, M. H., Mitchell, P. W., Stypa, A. and Barry, D. A. (1987). Effects of nutrient availability and subsoil bulk density in corn yield and nutrient absorption. Canadian J. Soil Sci. 6: 281-92. Olsen, S. R., Cole, C. W., Watanabe, F. S. and Dean, L. A. (1954). Estimation of available phosphorus in soils by extraction with 0.5 NaHCO 3 (ph 8.5). United States Department of Agriculture Circular 939: Washington DC, USA. Parmar, D. K, Sharma, T. R., Saini, J. P. and Sharma, V. (1999). Response of french bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) to nitrogen and phosphorus in cold desert area of Himachal Pradesh. Indian J. Agron. 44(4): 787-90. Parmar, D. K. (2009). Integrated nutrient management for sustainable production and profitability of off season vegetables in cold arid region of Kinnaur, Himachal Pradesh. J. Indian Soc. Soil Sci. 57(3): 378-81. Prasad, B. (1994). Integrated nutrient management for sustainable agriculture. Fertilizer News 39: 19-25. Rana, S. S., Sood, P., Singh, Y. and Remeshwar (2003). Response of Rajmash (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) genotypes to potassium under dry temperate conditions of Himachal Pradesh. Himachal J. Agric. Res. 29 (1&2): 16-20. Sharma, R. P., Datt, N. and Sharma, Pritam K. (2003). Combined application of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and farm yard manure in onion (Allium cepa) under high hills, dry temperate conditions of north-western Himalayas. Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences 73: 225-27. Sharma, R. P., Akhilesh and Sharma, J. K. (2005). Productivity, nutrient uptake, soil fertility and economics as affected by chemical fertilizers and farmyard manure in broccoli (Brassica oleracca var talica) in an Entisol. Indian J. Agric. Sci. 75: 576-79. Sharma, R. P., Datt, Naveen and Chander, Girish. (2009). Effect of vermicompost, farmyard manure and chemical fertilizers on yield, nutrient uptake and soil fertility in okra (Abelmoschus esculentus) Onion (Allium cepa) sequence in wet temperate zone of Himachal Pradesh. J. Indian Soc. Soil Sci. 57 (3): 357-61. Singh, S. R., Bhat, M. I., Wani, J. A. and Najar, G. R. (2009). Role of Rhizobium and VAM fungi improvement in fertility and yield of green gram under temperate conditions. J. Indian Soc. Soil Sci. 57 (1): 45-52. Sinha,, N. P., Prasad, B. and Ghosh, A. B. (1981). Effect of continuous use of fertilizers on yield and nutrient uptake in wheat in wheat- soybean-potato cropping system. J. Indian Soc. Soil Sci. 29 (4): 537-42. Subbiah, B. and Asija, G. L. (1956). A Rapid procedure for estimation of available nitrogen in soils. current Science, 25 (8) : 259-260. Thakur, R. N., Arya, P. S. and Thakur, S. K. (1999). Response of french bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) varieties to fertilizer levels, Rhizobium inoculatun and their residual effect on onion (Allium cepa) in mid hills of northwestern Himalayas. Indian Journal of Agronomy 44: 416-418. Verma, V. S. and Saxena, K. K. (1995). Response of french bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) to graded dose of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in silty loam soil of central Uttar Pradesh. Indian J. Agron. 40 (1): 67-71. Walkley, A. and Black, C. A. (1934). An examination of the Degtjareff method for determining soil organic matter and a proposed modification of the chromic acid titration method. Soil Science 37: 29-38.