Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria, organic manures, and chemical fertilizers: impact on crop productivity and soil health of capsicum (Capsicum annuum L.) in North Western Himalayan region

Abstract

Integrated nutrient management practices play a vital role for enhancing the soil productivity and sustainable agriculture production. In vegetable crops, bell pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) is a most important vegetable as well as spice crop grown worldwide. The indiscriminate use of inorganic fertilizers for long period deteriorates productivity as well as soil fertility. Therefore, this study was proposed for an extensive evaluation of different combinations of organic manure, plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) with inorganic fertilizers and their influence on growth, yield, quality, economics, and soil health in bell pepper. This study was carried out on capsicum cv. Solan Bharpur with 15 treatment combinations in randomized block design with three replications. 75% Nitrogen Phosphorus (NP) + vermi compost (VC) and enriched compost (EC)@ 2.5 t/ha + PGPR resulted greatest available nitrogen (420.13 kg ha−1), phosphorus (53.87 kg ha−1), potassium (466.37 kg ha−1), organic carbon content (1.63%), and electrical conductivity (0.91 dSm−1). Similar treatment combination ie T14 obtained greatest values for yield and yield attributing parameters viz. fruit length (7.06 cm), fruit breadth (5.91 cm), pericarp thickness (6.72 mm), number of fruits per plant (28.05), improved yield by 60.89%, and enhanced total soluble solids (5.94 OBrix), ascorbic acid content (182.54 mg/100 g). Our findings revealed that combining organic manures, such as farm yard manure, VC, EC, and PGPRs, with inorganic fertilizers to the extent of 50–75% is good for enhancing the soil health and delivering a benefit:cost ratio of 2.59 along with long-term crop output.