Abstract
Cotton crop, plays a significant role in Pakistan's economy by ruling a prominent place in edible oil and local textile industry. Phosphorus (P) inaccessibility and deficiency of soil organic matter are the key restraints for low crop productivity in cotton. Therefore, a two years field study was designed during 2014-15, to explore the influence of phosphate solubilizing bacteria (PSB), farmyard manure (FYM), poultry manure (PM) and inanimate sources of P on various physiological, growth, yield and quality parameters of cotton crop at CCRI Multan. Field responses of seeds inoculated with two distinctive phosphate solubilizing bacteria (PSB) strains viz. S0 = control, S1 =strain-1, S2 = strain-2 and eight organic, inorganic P sources viz., P0= control, P1 = 80 kg ha-1 P from inorganic source, P2 = 80 kg ha-1 P from FYM, P3 = 80 kg ha-1 P from PM, P4 = 40 kg ha-1 P from FYM + 40 kg ha-1 P from inorganic source, P5 = 40 kg ha-1 P from PM + 40 kg ha-1 P from inorganic source, P6 = 80 kg ha-1 P from FYM + 40 kg ha-1 P from inorganic source, P7 = 80 kg ha-1 P from PM + 40 kg ha-1 P from inorganic source and P8 = 40 kg ha-1 P from FYM + 40 kg ha-1 P from PM were evaluated. Results revealed that inoculation of seeds with PSB and collective use of inorganic and organic sources of P had considerably increased the yield contributing attributes in cotton. However, the treatment P7 (80 kg P ha-1 from PM + 40 kg P ha-1 from inorganic source) in coincidence with seeds inoculated with PSB (S1) produced taller plant, maximum boll weight, significantly higher LAI and CGR. Significantly higher seed cotton yield, lint yield, fiber length and maximum BCR of 1.95 and 1.81 was also obtained from the P7 treatment during both crop-growing seasons. In conclusion, combined use of 80 kg P ha-1 from PM + 40 kg P ha-1 from inorganic source and cotton seeds inoculated with strain-1 improved phosphorus uptake ensuing in greater consumption of photo-assimilates for maximum growth and yield.
Highlights
Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.), the fiber plant is a principal cash crop, sown for both agricultural and industrial purposes in the tropical and temperate zones of the biosphere (Singh, 2004)
Data concerning leaf area index (LAI) noted at various growth stages varied significantly due to interactive impact of phosphate solubilizing bacteria (PSB) strains and distinctive P sources during both years (Figure 1a)
Cotton seeds inoculated with strain-1 of PSB produced significantly higher Leaf Area Index (LAI) with the integrated use of 80 kg ha-1 P from poultry manure (PM) + 40 kg ha-1 P from chemical source in 2014 and 2015
Summary
Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.), the fiber plant is a principal cash crop, sown for both agricultural and industrial purposes in the tropical and temperate zones of the biosphere (Singh, 2004) It is predominantly used for lint production and its strength and potential to be adorned make it vital for textile stuffs (Jones and Kersey, 2002). Cotton is the key source of employment for millions involved in production; processing, ginning, fabric industry and trade associated activities and contributes 60% of the foreign exchange earnings (Noreen et al, 2013) It contributes 0.8% share in gross domestic product and about 4.5% in agriculture value added products (Pakistan, 2018). This gap is primarily due to cotton leaf curl virus diseases, severe insect pest attack, weeds invasion, atmospheric stresses such as high temperature and moisture stress during critical stages, less availability of quality of the seed, inappropriate planting techniques and ineffective managerial practices and limited supply of essential nutrients (Shuli et al, 2018; Arif et al, 2019)
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