Management of Phosphorus Sources in Combination with Rhizobium and Phosphate Solubilizing Bacteria Improve Nodulation, Yield and Phosphorus Uptake in Chickpea
Poor availability of phosphorus (P) in calcareous soil is one of the main reasons for low chickpea productivity. The high pH and calcium in calcareous soil fix the P making it unavailable to the crop. Furthermore, if the availability of P is increased from a comparatively cheaper source of P, the farmers’ cost of production could be decreased. We hypothesized that proper management of P sources like rock phosphate (RP) and single superphosphate (SSP), phosphate solubilizing bacteria (PSB), and rhizobium could improve the solubility and availability of P for higher chickpea yield. Therefore, a two-year field experiment was conducted in a randomized complete block design with a split-plot arrangement, using four replications. P sources in different ratios (RP:SSP; 0:100, 25:75, 50:50, 75:25, 100:0) were assigned to the main plot, while combinations of PSB and rhizobium into a subplot. The results revealed that among P source ratios (RP:SSP), 0:100 and 25:75 exerted a significant effect on chickpea phenology, nodulation, yield contributing traits, total P uptake, and increased seed yield by 63% and 53% as compared to 100:0 across the years, respectively. Early development, higher nodule biomass, yield contributing traits, and P uptake along with an increase of 16% in seed yield were obtained in PSB applied plots than without PSB. Seed inoculation with rhizobium improved all the studied traits, delayed flowering and maturity, and increased seed yield by 17% than without rhizobium. The findings suggested that PSB solubilized the poor available P from RP in combination with SSP which could improve the efficiency of rhizobium in nodulation, seed yield, and P uptake of chickpea. Thus, phosphorus source ratio (RP:SSP) of 25:75 along with PSB and rhizobium are recommended for higher productivity of chickpea in calcareous soils of Pakistan.
Management of Phosphorus Sources in Combination with Rhizobium and Phosphate Solubilizing Bacteria Improve Nodulation, Yield and Phosphorus Uptake in Chickpea