Effect of Microbial Inoculants on Leghemoglobin Content in Nodules and Microbial Populations in Rhizosphere of Soybean in a Vertisols

The present study was carried out during kharif season 2019-20 at the Research Farm, Department of Soil Science & Agricultural Chemistry, Jawaharlal Nehru Krishi Vishwa Vidyalaya, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh (INDIA), to assess the effect of microbial inoculants on leghemoglobin content in nodules and microbial populations in rhizosphere of soybean in a Vertisols. The experiment was laid out under randomized block design with three replications. The fifteen treatments comprised of different beneficial microbial consortia in possible combinations applied as seed treatments. Besides these, two control plots were maintained as fertilized un-inoculated control (FUI) and unfertilized un-inoculated control (UFUI). The results revealed that the significant improvement were noticed by the application of consortia NPK+EM+PGPR in leghemoglobin content in nodules at 25, 45 & 65 DAS over control. Similarly, the microbial populations of the diazotroph, PSB, KSB, PGPR, phototroph, Lactic bacterium, actinomycetes, fungus and yeast were maximum in NPK+EM+PGPR treatment and followed by PK+EM+PGPR treatments. Thus, it may be concluded that the consortium of NPK + EM + PGPR was superior for maximum nodulation and microbial population in rhizosphere of soybean in a Vertisol.