Field Efficacy of Bio-fertilizers and Bio-inputs to Improve Wheat (<span class="italic">Triticum aestivum</span>) Production under Alkaline Soil in Kachchh District of Gujarat

Field Efficacy of Bio-fertilizers and Bio-inputs to Improve Wheat (Triticum aestivum) Production under Alkaline Soil in Kachchh District of Gujarat

1Department of Earth and Environmental Science, KSKV Kachchh University, Mundra Road, Bhuj - 01, Kachchh, Gujarat, India

With the aim of reducing chemical fertilizer application and improving the sustainability of wheat cultivation under alkaline soil, the present study investigated the effects of different biofertilizers and organic products on wheat productivity. The application of these products was applied in the soil through irrigation water as solitary or in consortia by three different ways of treatment, i.e. (1) single treatment; (2) double treatment (first and 21 days), and (3) triple treatment (first, 21 days and 45 days). We demonstrate that all the biofertilizers significantly enhanced wheat productivity as compared to the control treatment, but this was mostly observed with more than one treatment condition. The biofertilizers were applied in solitary and consortia treatments. Solitary treatment of Azospirillium spp, Bacillus subtilis, and Pseudomonas fluorescence was found effective. However, the Nitrogen consortium treatment of biofertilizers (Azotobacter chroococcum + Azospirillium spp) was more prominent as compared to solitary application. Our results suggest that more than one application of biofertilizers may be effectively exploited for sustainable wheat production in an eco-friendly way, but attention should be paid to the consortium approach or organic amendments during cultivation.

Highlights

Bioinoculant showed a positive effect due to their PGP characteristics on wheat shoot growth

Promising bacterial strains of Nitrogen fixers have potential as inoculation agents in eco-friendly wheat crop production under abiotic stress contributing to environmental sustainability.

Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is one of the largest growing cereal crops worldwide. This cereal crop plays a major role in fulfilling the increased demand for food to ensure food security. Fertilization is a main driving force in wheat cultivation to increase grain yield and quality (Zhang et al. 2014; Mon et al. 2016). For this, farmers applied a large dose of chemical fertilizers to improve the production of wheat. However, irregular use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides negatively impacts on the environment, including soil fertility, microbial diversity, water holding capacity, nutrient mobilization capacity, etc. (Xiao et al. 2019). In recent decades, agricultural scientists devoted their research towards organic farming and emphasized the use of organic manure, biofertilizers, biopesticides, and other organic amendments in cultivation practices to improve plant productivity (Abou-Aly et al. 2009; Rakshit et al. 2014; Cisse et al. 2019; Cortivo et al. 2020; Sarkar et al. 2020).

How to cite this article: Trivedi, M.H., Ahir, M., Vyas, S. and Singh, H.B. 2020. Field Efficacy of Bio-fertilizers and Bio-inputs to Improve Wheat (Triticum aestivum) Production under Alkaline Soil in Kachchh District of Gujarat. IJAEB, 13(4): 431–437.

Source of Support: None; Conflict of Interest: None

A long term organic farming practices showed positive impacts on soil fertility, dry crop matter, grain yield, and nutritional value (Esmailpour et al. 2013). Application of organic fertilizers and biofertilizers help wheat plants to survive under abiotic and biotic stress conditions (Mahmoud et al. 2008; Dal Cortivo et al. 2020). Hence, the microbial intervention has great potential to improve plant productivity under adverse conditions also and reduce the dependency on chemical fertilizers (Kumar et al. 2017; Manjhi et al. 2016; Parihar and Rakshit 2016). In the presented study, we conducted different experiments with biofertilizers, and nutrient compounds to evaluate their effect on wheat productivity.

The Kachchh area of Gujarat, India is highly alkaline with more than 89% villages having pH more than 8, Organic content < 1, and deprived with nitrogen (N) content the main requirement for wheat growth (Un published report of Satvik, 2016). In addition, the alkaline nature would further reduce the availability of other nutrients like P, Fe, Zn for plants. Hence, the aims of the present study were designed to improve wheat productivity and nutritional quality growing in the soil of the Kachchh region through organic farming practices by applying different amendments including dung water, curd, rock phosphate, and different commercially available bio-fertilizers alone and in different combinations. To attempt this objective, experiments were designed with different nutrient solubilizing microbes i.e., a nitrogen fixer, phosphate solubilizer, potassium solubilizer, Arbuscular mycorrhize fungi, and bio-control fungi Trichoderma. The effect of these microbes on wheat productivity was also compared with other organic treatments such as dung water, curd water, and chemical fertilization.

Experiments were conducted in the Anjar region of Gujarat, India. The geographical location of the farm is 23.134143” N (latitude), 69.898209” E (longitude). The farm is a certified organic farm (certificate no. ORG/SC/1312/001634) with NPOP, EU, and NOP standards by IMO Control Pvt. Ltd (Fig. 1).

◆ To get a sustainable source of nitrogen - mix plantation strategy with Ranjako (Medicago sativa) and leguminous crops (Cicer arietinum) as compared to alone and different combinations of N fixing bio-fertilizer like Azotobacter chroococcum, Acetobacter diazotrophicus and Azospirillium spp. were used.

◆ To get a sustainable source of phosphorous, application of rock phosphate alone as compared to the application of bio-fertilizer like Pseudomonas fluorescens and Bacillus subtilis as well as in the combination of rock phosphate and Pseudomonas fluorescens were used.

◆ Impact of application of Potash solubilizing bacteria (Fraturia aurantia) in high Potash (K) soil of Kachchh on wheat productivity were studied.

◆ Application of micronutrients (Fe 60%, Zn 20%, Mn 10%, Mg 10%) on wheat productivity were also studied.

◆ Application of fungus like Trichoderma harzianum (In addition to anti-fungal activity, the genus boosts germination rate, solubilizes various insoluble forms of phosphates, augments nitrogen fixation)

◆ Arbuscular mycorrhizal Fungi (Increases the uptake and mobilization nutrients) on wheat production were also studied.

The farm covered total of 20 Acres (80,000 m) of land. Out of which approximately 3,900 m area was occupied for the present investigation and divided into 52 plots, each of 25 m as shown in Fig. A. As per standard criteria, 0.5 m border area was eliminated from each plot for the calculation of production of the crop during harvesting to avoid cross-contamination of application of amendments by adjoining plots. Therefore, production occurred in 13.50 m area was considered as the production of wheat in each plot. A total of twenty amendments was applied (including control). The details of the amendments, dose, and their application are given in table 1. The method of irrigation used was Check Basin (CB). The farmers were well trained for the uniform application of each amendment in each plot using CB method of irrigation. The seeds were sowed by Automatic Seed Drill along with a tractor. The date of Seed sowed was 22.11.2019, and the date of crop harvested was 30.03.2020.

The treatment was divided into three types, viz. T1 refereed as a single treatment on day one along with irrigation water, T2 referred as two times treatments one was on day one along with irrigation water and second was on 21 days along with irrigation water and T3 refereed as three times treatment one was on day one along with irrigation water, second was on 21 days along with irrigation water and third was on 45 days along with irrigation water. Each plot has received an equal quantity of water and is irrigated on first, 21, and 45 days.

The outcome of the study was summarized in table 2. The data were presented as Mean, and S.E. Significant analysis was performed as compared to control using paired student's t test. The result revealed that the application of micronutrients and dung water during T3 treatment was significantly effective at p<0.5 (4.05 ± 0.15 kg/5 sq. Mt. plot) as compared to control treatment.

The application of Azotobacter chroococcum and Acetobacter diazotrophicus in the solitary application was found to be non-effective during all treatments i.e., T1, T2, and T3. However, the application of Azospirillium spp. in T1 and T2 was found to be significantly effective at p<0.5 as compared to control.

The consortium treatment of Azotobacter chroococcum & Acetobacter diazotrophicus, and Azotobacter chroococcum & Azospirillium spp, as well as Acetobacter diazotrophicus & Azospirillium spp., was found to be significantly effective in T2 and T3 treatment as compared to control at p<0.5. The combination of all three Nitrogen-fixing bacterial species of biofertilizer, i.e., Azotobacter chroococcum, Acetobacter diazotrophicus, and Azospirillium spp. found to be significantly effective in T1, T2, and T3 as compared to control at p<0.5. Treatment of Pseudomonas florescence alone was found to be significantly effective during all treatments i.e., T1, T2, and T3. Treatment of Pseudomonas florescence along with Rock Phosphate was found to be significantly effective during treatment T2 and T3 as compared to control. Treatment of Fraturia aurantia was found to be significantly effective as compared to control at p<0.5 during T1 and T3 treatment. Treatment of Bacillus subtilis was found to be significantly effective at p<0.5 in all treatments i.e., T1, T2, and T3. Treatment of Trichoderma harzianum was found to be significantly effective as compared to control at p<0.5 during T2, while the application of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi was found to be significant during T3 treatment.

Organic amendments in farming practices are a sustainable approach for improving soil fertility, crop productivity in a cheaper and eco-friendly way. Biofertilizers including bacteria, fungi, cyanobacteria are reported to exert a beneficial impact on the nutritional value and yield of wheat plant (Karthikeyan et al. 2007; Meena et al. 2016; Meena et al. 2017; Cisse et al. 2019; Dal Cortivo et al. 2020).

However, most of the studies are performed under laboratory or controlled condition; the positive effect of biofertilizers in open field may constrain due to dynamic environmental conditions. Microbes used in this study Azotobacter chroococcum, Acetobacter diazotrophicus, Azospirillium spp., Pseudomonas florescence, Fraturia aurantia, Bacillus subtilis, Trichoderma harzianum, and Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi have already been successfully applied on different crops (Wu et al. 2005; Sivasakthivelan et al. 2013; Akladious and Abbas 2014; Wani et al. 2016; Subhashini et al. 2015; Parihar and Rakshit 2016; Parihar et al. 2019; Parihar et al. 2020a and 2020b; Murumkar et al. 2017; Prasad and Babu 2017). In the present study, these microbes were applied as single inoculants and a combination thereof through field application, with the aim to increase the yield of wheat. With these microbial inoculations, we expect nutrient solubilization process in the soil, i.e., potassium and phosphorus, and nitrogen-fixing ability, thereby increasing nutrient uptake efficiency of the plant and finally growth (Mohammadi and Sohrabi 2012; Vaishnav et al. 2013; Itelima et al. 2018). Indeed, more than one-time treatment of these microbial inoculations was found to increase wheat productivity as compared to the control treatment. The highest productivity was observed with Azospirillium spp. inoculation alone. It might be due to its multiple actions in the soil, like mobilizing the other nutrients as well as maintaining pH of the soil (Fukami et al. 2018). In consortium treatment, the combined application of Azotobacter chroococcum, Acetobacter diazotrophicus, Azospirillium spp. was found prominent, and it might be due to the role of nitrogen-fixing bacteria in low nitrogen soil of semi-arid soil of Kachchh. Rock Phosphate + Pseudomonas treatment was also found to increase productivity as compared to individual treatment that suggests the solubilization of phosphorus by P. fluorescence. In addition, we found a clear positive effect of dung water and micronutrient application on wheat productivity as compared to control treatment.

This study has shown that bacteria, fungus, and AMF inoculation have a great impact on wheat plant growth under field conditions. More benefit was observed after three times the application of microbial inoculation. The benefits included the production of wheat gains (in Kg from 5.00 Sq. Mt. Plot). We confirmed the importance of Nitrogen-fixing microbial consortia (Azotobacter chroococcum, Acetobacter diazotrophicus, and Azospirillium spp.) in enhancing wheat growth and productivity. Despite moderate effects, the dung water and curd water tested here are also expected to increase productivity, which is of great importance in organic amendments.

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