STUDIES ON THE EFFICACY OF PHOSPHATE SOLUBILIZING MICROBES AND VAM FUNGI WITH GRADED LEVELS OF PHOSPHORUS ON GROWTH, YIELD AND NUTRIENT UPTAKE OF PAPAYA (CARICA PAPAYA L.)

Papaya (Carica papaya L.) is a heavy feeder of nutrients.
To maintain the continuous growth and fruiting, heavy doses of fertilizers should be applied at frequent intervals which may lead to unsustainability of the present day agricultural system causing soil deterioration and environmental pollution.
Hence, there is a need to shift from conventional nutrient management system to integrated nutrient management system.
As the biofertilizers are the essential components of integrated nutrient management, an investigation was conducted at Horticulture Research Station of Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Mondouri, Nadia, West Bengal to study the efficacy of PSM (Bacillus megatherium + Aspergillus awamori) and VAM (Glomus mosseae + G. fasciculatum) biofertilizers with graded levels of phosphorus (P2O5 at 50, 100, 150 and 200 g) on growth and nutrient uptake of papaya.
Maximum plant height (192.67 cm), girth (24.00 cm) and total number of leaves (25.17) were observed in VAM + 200 g P₂O₅. VAM were also found more effective in increasing height and girth than PSM. Early flowering was noticed due to application of increased phosphorus level and biofertilizer inoculation.
Highest yield (64.85 tonnes/ha) was resulted due to the inoculation effect of PSM and 200 g P₂O₅ treatment combination.
P and K content of leaves increased with increasing phosphorus level and biofertilizer application.

II International Symposium on Papaya

C.P. Suresh, S. Nath, M. Poduval, S.K. Sen

papaya, VAM, PSM, phosphate, plant growth, yield, nutrient uptake

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2010.851.62