Increase in Growth, Productivity and Nutritional Status of Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and enrichment in Soil Microbial Population Applied with Biofertilizers Entrapped with Organic Matrix

Abstract

To find effective alternatives to reduce the application of conventional urea (CU), a conventional biofertilizer (CB) preparation (charcoal mixed Azotobacter chroococcum and Bacillus subtilis) and the same biofertilizers entrapped in an organic matrix consisting of cow dung, rice bran, dried powder of neem leaves, and clay soil in 1:1:1:1 ratio and 25% (w/w) saresh (plant gum of Acacia sp.), named as super granules of biofertilizers (SGBF) were applied to cultivate wheat (Triticum aestivum L. cv. ‘WH-711’) in experimental plots. The results revealed that the efficacy of commercially available charcoal mixed biofertilizers could not prove as effective alternative to CU, whereas the same dose of biofertilizers entrapped in the organic matrix, SGBF, resulted in a significant increase in growth and productivity of wheat. It appears that SGBF prepared and applied in this study is an effective organic alternative to the urea for wheat cultivation in semi-arid subtropical agro-ecosystems.