Influence of Liquid Plant Growth Promoting Rhizomicrobial Consortia on Graft Success in Mango (Mangifera indica L.)

Mango is the most important and commercially grown fruit crop in India. The area under mango is increasing rapidly but the limited availability of genuine planting material is the most important bottleneck in the expansion of the area. The application of liquid plant growth promoting rhizomicrobial consortia (PGPR) at the nursery stage will enhance the seedling vigour and graft success. Hence, an experiment was conducted at the College of Horticulture, Hiriyur during the academic year 2022–23. The experiment was laid out in completely randomized design with eight treatments and three replications. In this study, liquid PGPRs were applied to the media (soil, sand and FYM @ 3:1:1), the different PGPRs viz., Control- (T1), Azotobacter chroococcum (T2), Bacillus megaterium (T3), Frateuria aurantia (T4), Azotobacter chroococcum + Bacillus megaterium (T5), Azotobacter chroococcum + Frateuria aurantia (T6), Bacillus megaterium + Frateuria aurantia (T7), Azotobacter chroococcum + Bacillus megaterium + Frateuria aurantia (T8). Among different treatments, T8 has showed significantly maximum sprout success (82.22 % and 84.44 % at 30 and 60 days after grafting), survival per cent (84.55 %), sprout length (9.30 cm), sprout girth (4.76 mm), number of leaves (15.37), leaf length (14.08 cm) and leaf breadth (3.29 cm) at 120 days after grafting. Hence, it is concluded that the mango rootstocks treated with Azotobacter chroococcum, Bacillus megaterium and Frateuria aurantia resulted in better physiological growth and graft success.