IMPACT OF BIOFERTILIZERS AND BIOPESTICIDES ON THE GROWTH AND YIELD OF JASMINE (JASMINUM SAMBAC L.)

Abstract

Jasmine (Jasminum sambac L.), one of the most important fragrant flowers widely cultivated in India, is seriously damaged by numerous insect pests. To devise a suitable Integrated Pest Management (IPM) module, a study using biofertilizers and biopesticides separately and in combination was conducted in two-year-old jasmine plants in a field at Seeragampatty village during September 2017 to February 2018. The experiment was set up in Randomized Block Design (RBD) with nine treatments for both biofertilizers and biopesticides with three replications. The results strongly endorse the integrative approach for the optimum growth and yield of jasmine plants which was produced by the combined inoculation of Azospirillum sp. and Phosphobacterium sp. along with vermicompost. The infestation of budworms, red mites and white flies were reduced with the application of biopesticides (Trichoderma sp., Bacillus sp. and Paecilomyces sp.) in combination with biofertilizers. It was also found that there was no infestation of budworms during November 2017 and January 2018, and that of red mites in November 2017. The population of white flies was fluctuating throughout the study period. From the findings of present investigation, it has been concluded that the amalgamation of suitable biofertilizers and biopesticides managed the insect pests in a better way and increased the growth and yield of jasmine. Keywords: Jasmine, Biofertilizers, Biopesticides, Growth, Yield, IPM.