Abstract
A pot experiment was conducted in the screen-house of Department of Horticulture, College of Agriculture, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar during the two successive seasons of 2011-12 and 2012-13 to investigate the potential effect of different strains of Bacillus (BS1- SYB101, BS2- SB155 and BS3- SB127), Pseudomonas (PS1- WPS73, PS2- CPA152 and PS3-P20) and their combination on growth, flowering and nutrient content of chrysanthemum. Strains of Bacillus and Pseudomonas significantly influenced the observed parameters of chrysanthemum. Maximum plant height and number of branches per plant were recorded in plants inoculated with PS2 strain of Pseudomonas (CPA152) and BS3 strain of Bacillus (SB127) in both the years. The minimum number of days taken to bud initiation, days for first flowering from bud initiation and days taken for 50% flowering were recorded in plants inoculated with PS2 strain of Pseudomonas (CPA152) and BS3 strain of Bacillus (SB127). The maximum flower size was noticed with PS3 strain of Pseudomonas (P20) in the first year whereas, in second year, the response of Pseudomonas strains was found non-significant. Among Bacillus strains, the plants inoculated with BS3 (SB127) recorded maximum flower size. Maximum flower yield/plant was recorded in plants inoculated with PS2 strains of Pseudomonas (CPA152) and BS3 strains of Bacillus (SB127). The N content of plant was recorded maximum with PS2 (CPA152) and PS3 (P20) strains of Pseudomonas and BS3 (SB127) strains of Bacillus, whereas, P content of plant was noticed maximum with PS3 strains of Pseudomonas (P20) in the first year, while it was found non-significant in second. The response of Pseudomonas strains to K content of plant was found non-significant in both years, while K content of plant was influenced significantly by Bacillus strains. Key words: Chrysanthemum, PGPR, rhizosphere bacteria, Bacillus, Pseudomonas, nutrient content.
Highlights
Chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat.) which occupies a prominent place in ornamental horticulture is one of the commercially exploited flower crops
A pot experiment was conducted in the screen-house of Department of Horticulture, College of Agriculture, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar during the two successive seasons of 2011-12 and 2012-13 to investigate the potential effect of different strains of Bacillus (BS1- SYB101, BS2- SB155 and BS3- SB127), Pseudomonas (PS1- WPS73, PS2- CPA152 and PS3-P20) and their combination on growth, flowering and nutrient content of chrysanthemum
Maximum flower yield/plant was recorded in plants inoculated with PS2 strains of Pseudomonas (CPA152) and BS3 strains of Bacillus (SB127)
Summary
Chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat.) which occupies a prominent place in ornamental horticulture is one of the commercially exploited flower crops. It is mainly grown for cut and loose flowers for garland making, general decoration, hair adornments and religious function. Though the quality of flowers is primarily a varietal trait, it is greatly influenced by climatic, geographical and nutritional factors among which nutrition play major role (Laishram et al, 2013). At present, these nutrients are supplied through chemical fertilizers. The use of chemical fertilizers has resulted in the deterioration of soil health and has led to some major environmental problems, such as soil and water pollution and other health related problems, besides increasing the input cost for crop production especially on the marginal farmers
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