Assessment of Effect of Bacterial Consortium on Growth and Yield of Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.)

Sorghum is a highly nutrient-intensive crop therefore in order to reduce the need of chemical fertilizers, maintain a sufficient level of soil fertility, and increase the productivity of the sorghum crop, a bacterial consortium consisting of Azospirillum brasilense, Gluconacetobacter diazotrophicus, Pseudomonas fluorescens and Bacillus subtilis was developed to improve sorghum growth and yield. The seed treatment with a bacterial consortium was applied for Rabi season (2022-2023) at experimental field of Department of Plant Pathology & Agril. Microbiology, Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth, Rahuri (M.S.), India. Field results indicated that all growth and yield parameters of sorghum were influenced by the treatment T2 i.e. RDF (Recommended Dose of Fertilizers + Bacterial Consortium) which was significantly superior over rest of the all treatment and it was at par with treatment T3 i.e. (75% NPK + Bacterial Consortium). RDF and the bacterial consortium (T2) significantly enhanced growth parameters, including germination rate (95.83%), plant height at flowering (156.22 cm) and at harvest (171.22 cm), fresh weight of shoot (70.43 g) and root (57.6 g), dry matter weight at flowering (31.05) and harvesting (37.00 g), grain yield (20.09 q/ha), and stover yield (53.43 q/ha), 1000-grain weight (35.5 g), outperforming all other treatments. The Absolute Control (T8) consistently showed the lowest values across all growth and yield parameters. The study concludes that integrating a bacterial consortium with RDF or 75% NPK significantly enhances sorghum growth and yield, supporting sustainable practices by reducing dependency on chemical fertilizers while improving soil health and productivity. This combination is recommended for achieving optimal sorghum yield, especially in nutrient-limited soils.