V.P. VAMSIDHAR*, A. PRASANTHI, Y. BALACHANDRA, N.V. SARALA AND M.V.S. NAIDU

Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, S.V. Agricultural College, ANGRAU, Tirupati-517 502.

ABSTRACT

A field experiment was conducted on sandy clay loam soils at Wetland farm, ANGRAU, S.V. Agricultural College, Tirupati during rabi 2023-2024 in groundnut crop to study the effect of application of organic manure, chemical fertilizers and biofertilizer of potassium on potassium use efficiency in groundnut. The experimental results revealed that application of 75 per cent RDK through FYM + seed treatment with KRB @ 10 ml kg-1 seed + spraying of Multi K @1 per cent at 45 DAS (T₄), being statistically at par with application of 75 per cent RDK through MOP + soil application with KRB @ 1.25 L ha-1+ spraying of Multi K @1 per cent at pod development (T₇) and 50 per cent RDK through FYM and MOP each + soil application with KRB @

1.25 L ha-1(T₁₀)significantly promoted higher growth parameters viz., plant height, leaf area, dry matter production at all stages of crop, yield attributes viz., number of filled pods per plant, number of illfilled pods per plant, hundred pod weight, hundred kernel weight, shelling per cent age,pod yield(1690 kg ha-1) and haulm yield (3102 kg ha-1).

KEYWORDS: Potassium Use Efficiency, growth parameters and yield attributes.

INTRODUCTION

In terms of acreage and output, groundnut dominates all oilseed crops in the nation, accounting for more than 40–50 per cent. Groundnut oil cake is an useful organic manure that is produced after oil extraction and includes 7-8 per cent N, 1.5 per cent P₂O₅, and 1.5 per cent K₂O. It also works well as a cover crop for areas at risk due to soil erosion. India leads world in groundnut cultivation area, covering 54.21 lakh hectares annually and is the second largest producer with a production of 101 lakh tonnes and productivity of 1863 kg ha-1 in the year 2021-2022. Similarly in Andhra Pradesh, the groundnut production is of about 5.19 lakh tonnes on an area of 8.23 lakh hectares.

In the recent times due to inadequate information there is heavy and indiscriminate use of fertilizers which led to nutrient loss during application and sometimes plants are unable to absorb nutrients from the applied organic and inorganic fertilizers, in such cases biofertilizers are used as substitute because they increase the plant growth, yield and they even improve water holding capacity, structure and bulk density of soil.

It is proven that microbial soil community is able to influence soil fertility through soil processes viz. decomposition, mineralization, and storage/release of nutrients (Parmar and Sindhu, 2013). Among these microorganisms, K mobilizing bacteria (KMB) have attracted the attention of agriculturists as soil inoculum to promote the plant growth and yield.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

A field experiment was carried out during rabi season of 2023-2024 at the Wetland farm, S. V. Agricultural College, ANGRAU, Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh.The experimental soil was slightly alkaline in reaction, non saline, low in organic carbon and nitrogen and medium in available phosphorus and potassium.The experimental was laid out in Randomized Block Design (RBD) with 10 treatments and 3 replications.The treatments involved combination of organic manure (FYM), potassium fertilizers (MOP and Multi-K) and biofertilizer (liquid KRB) are :Control (T₁), T₁ + seed treatment with KRB @ 10 ml kg-1 seed + Spraying of Multi K @1 per cent at 30 DAS and 60 DAS (T₂), 100 per cent RDK through FYM (T₃), 75 per cent RDK through FYM + seed treatment with KRB @ 10 ml kg-1 seed + spraying of Multi K @1 per cent at 45 DAS (T₄), 50 per cent RDK through FYM + seed treatment with KRB @ 10 ml kg-1 seed + spraying of Multi K @1 per cent at 45 DAS (T₅), 100 per cent RDK through MOP (T₆), 75 per cent RDK through MOP + soil application with KRB @ 1.25 L ha-1 + spraying of Multi K @ 1 per cent at pod development (T₇), 50 per cent RDK through MOP + soil application with KRB @ 1.25 L ha-1 + spraying of Multi K @1 per cent at pod development (T₈), 50 per cent RDK through FYM and MOP each (T₉)and 50 per cent RDK through FYM and MOP each + soil application with KRB @ 1.25 L ha-1 (T₁₀).FYM, chemical fertilizers MOP and Multi-K were applied based on per cent of potassium content.

Table 1. Effect of potassium application through different organic, inorganic sources and biofertilizers of potassium on plant height (cm), leaf area (cm2), dry matter production (kg ha-1) of groundnut crop at different crop intervals

Table 2. Effect of potassium application through different organic, inorganic sources and biofertilizers of potassium on Yield attributes of groundnut

Table 3. Effect of potassium application through different organic, inorganic sources and biofertilizers of potassium on pod and haulm yield (kg ha-1) of groundnut crop

FYM contains 0.5 per cent K₂O, MOP contains 60 per cent K₂O, and Multi-K contains 46 per cent K₂O.The test variety used in the present experiment was dharani variety by adopting a spacing of 22.5 cm × 10 cm.

For soil application KRB was applied to FYM before 5 days of sowingand applied to the soil, Multi- K is applied as foliar application at the time of sowing along with MOP as basal application as per treatment details. The recommended dose of N and P was applied commonly to all treatments (Recommended dose of fertilizer 30-40-50 N- P₂O₅-K₂O kg ha-1).

Sampling was done at different phenological growth stages of crop after recording plant height. Five plants from each plot were dug out with roots. The plants were thoroughly washed to free from dirt and surface dried with blotting paper. Different plant parts were dried in hot air oven at 100°C for 15 minutes and then at 80°C for 48 hours until they attained constant weights. Leaf area and dry matter was estimated in five plants in each plot at different growth stages of crop. After separation of leaves from the plant, leaf area was estimated using leaf area meter (Li- COR model LI 3100) and expressed as cm2.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Effect of FYM and liquid KRB on growth parameters and yield attributes of groundnut

Combined application of RDK and KRB significantly improved all growth parameters of groundnut viz., plant height, leaf area, and dry matter production at all stages of crop growth. This is due to effect of KRB that helps in increasing the available nutrients in soil and thus increasing N, P and K content and uptake by plant haulm and kernels. (Table 1) [Jat et al. (2013) and Bagyalakshmi et al. (2012)].

Effect of FYM and liquid KRB on yield attributes of groundnut

Application of RDK and KRB improved the yield attributes due to slow mineralisation and availability of nutrient along with increased moisture holding capacity of soil [Sarade et al., (2016) and Sultana et al., (2012)]. Among the treatments application of 75 per cent RDK through FYM + seed treatment with KRB @ 10 ml kg-1 seed + spraying of Multi K @ 1 per cent at 45 DAS (T₄) recorded higher yield attributes i.e., No. of pods per plant, hundred pod weight, hundred kernel weight, shelling per cent age (Table 2) due to supply of N, P, K, secondary and micronutrients thus improving the soil fertility.

Effect of FYM, potassium fertilizers and liquid KRB on groundnut yield

Pod and haulm yield were significantly enhanced with application of RDK and KRB. Significantly highest pod yield (1690 kg ha-1) and haulm yield (3102 kg ha- 1) was recorded with application of 75 per cent RDK through FYM + seed treatment with KRB @ 10ml kg- 1seed + spraying of Multi K @ 1 per cent at 45 DAS (T₄) (Table 3). The results are in conformity with findings of Ola et al. (2013).

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The author(s) gratefully acknowledge the Department of Soil Science, Acharya N.G Ranga Agricultural University, Lam, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, India forproviding the research facilities for this research.

LITERATURE CITED

Bagyalakshmi, B., Nithya, B and Ponmurugan, P. 2009. Studies on potassium solubilizing bacteria from Southern Indian tea soils. Guidelines for Entrepreneurship development programme to biotechnology graduates, Excel India Publishers, New Delhi. 71-76.

Jat, M.K., Purohit, H.S., Singh, B., Garhwal, R.S and Choudhary, M. 2013. Effect of integrated nutrient management on yield and nutrient uptake in sorghum (Sorghum bicolor). Indian Journal of Agronomy. 58(4): 543-547.

Ola, B.L., Pareek, B.L., Rathore, P.S and Kumawat,

A.M.I.T. 2013. Effect of integrated nutrient management on productivity of groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) in arid western Rajasthan. Agriculture for Sustainable Development. 1(1): 13-15.

Parmar, P and Sindhu, S.S. 2013. Potassium solubilization by rhizosphere bacteria: influence of nutritional and environmental conditions. Indian Journal of Microbiology Research. 3(1): 25-31.

Sarade, P.K., Andhale, R.P and Ughade, S.R. 2016. The Effect of integrated nutrient management on growth, yield and quality of summer groundnut. Advances in Life Sciences. 5(2): 466-470.

Sultana, J., Siddique, M.A and Rashid, M.H.A. 2012. Effects of cow dung and potassium on growth and yield of Kohlrabi. Journal of the Bangladesh Agricultural University. 10(1): 27-32.