Integrated Nutrient Management Approach for Modulating Growth Performance in Brinjal (Solanum melongena L.)

Brinjal is a high-yielding and nutrient-hungry crop, so nutrient management is essential for commercial brinjal production. The present study was conducted by integrating inorganic fertilizers with Azotobacter chroococcum as an N-fixer and Aspergillus niger as a P-solubilizer. Further, zinc was provided as ZnSO4 (0.5%) and/or boron as borax (0.2%) through foliar spray. The study was conducted during 2020-21 and 2021-22, and pooled data were analyzed to test the efficacy of treatments. The observations recorded on various parameters revealed that the application of 75% of the recommended dose of nitrogen (RDN) supplemented with Azotobacter as an N-fixer in combination with recommended doses of phosphorous and potassium and foliar spray of zinc as ZnSO4 (0.5%) and boron as borax (0.2%) resulted in highest average plant height (30.997, 63.767, 97.577, and 108.957 cm, respectively), per plant count of branches (4.242, 13.063, 22.227, and 29.750, respectively) and leaves (31.033, 54.433, 74.533, and 86.900, respectively). The chlorophyll content (64.490 mg/g), leaf area index (0.757), total plant biomass (3,719.52 g), and the average fruit weight (173.83 g/fruit) in brinjal were recorded. The best-integrated approach for brinjal cultivation was ascertained as (i) 75% RDN + 100% recommended dose of phosphorous (RDP) + 100% recommended dose of potassium (RDK) + N-fixer, and (ii) 75% RDN + 75% RDP + 100% RDK + N-fixer + P-solubilizer when applied in combination with foliar spray of zinc as ZnSO4 (0.5%), and boron as borax (0.2%).. KEYWORDS :Aspergillus, Azotobacter, Boron, Brinjal, Nutrient management, Zinc