Effect of Bio-inoculants (Azotobacter and PSB) on Growth and Yield of Chilli (Capsicum annum L.)

It is a popular vegetable and universal spice crop belonging to the family Solanaceae. It is widely cultivated throughout temperate, tropical, and sub-tropical countries. In India, chilli is consumed in various ways as a vegetable, spice, pickles, sauce, etc. The present investigation was undertaken to assess the effective combination of inoculation of Azotobacter and PSB (phosphate-solubilising bacteria) on growth and yield attributes in chilli. A pot experiment was conducted in the Agricultural Microbiology department, College of Agriculture, Raipur, during 2022-23 with the objective of studying the effect of bio-inoculants on the growth and yield of chilli (Capsicum annuum L.) variety Mohit. The experiment was carried out with a Completely Randomised Design comprising 7 treatments and 4 replications. Treatments include T1 (Control), T2 (Azoto-122), T3 (Azoto-146), T4 (Azoto-137), T5 (Azoto-122+PSB-126), T6 (Azoto-146-+PSB-126) and T7 (Azoto-137+PSB-126).Plant growth parameters assessed include morphological growth performances of chilli (survival percentage, plant height, biomass weight, root length), shoot nitrogen content and yield traits (number of fruits per plant, and weight of fruit per plant). Azotobacter and PSB strains were collected from the Microbiology repository and were revitalised with Jensen’s and Pikovskaya’s medium, respectively. The experimental results revealed asignificant increase in plant height from (73.00 cm) to (85.30 cm), number of fruits per plant from (19.50) to (38.00), and maximum dry biomass weight from (14.22 gplant-1) to (21.15 gplant-1) were observed under the treatment T7 (Azoto-137+PSB-126) over the control. Significantly highest nitrogen content in shoot (28.34mgg-1dry weight of plant) was noted under T7 (Azoto-137+PSB-126) at harvest, while minimum nitrogen content was (13.65mgg-1dry weight of plant) under T1 (Control). The treatment T7 recorded the maximum rhizosphere population. Significantly maximum yield characteristics viz. number of fruits per plant (38.00), and yield per plant (142.75g) were recorded with treatment T7 (Azoto-137+PSB-126), followed by T6 (Azoto-146+PSB-126). Treatment T7 (Azoto-137+PSB-126) was observed as the best treatment combination as compared to other treatments. Hence, with an effective combination of Azotobacter and PSB, we can procure excellent plant growth and thus promote the use of biofertilizer of the same. Dual application of bio-inoculants of Azotobacter and PSB has proven to be the best treatment with regard to the growth performance and fruit yield of chilli. It may be recommended for the commercial production of chilli to enhance the quality of the fruit as well as the yield.