Effect of FYM, Vermi-Compost, Azotobacter Inoculation and Chemical Fertilizers on Growth and Yield in Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

In rabi 2018-19, a field experiment using wheat cultivar K 1006 was carried out at the Students Instructional Farm of C. S. Azad University of Agriculture and Technology, Kanpur (U.P.). The location of the experiment is between 25° 56' and 28° 58' North and 79° 31' to 80° 34' East longitude. The study location was described as having a sandy loam texture, being alkaline (pH 8.19), containing 0.41% organic carbon, 187 kg/ha of available nitrogen, 11 kg/ha of available phosphorus, and 177 kg/ha of available potassium. Eight treatments (RDF-120:60:40 NPK Kg ha-1 as the recommended dose of fertilizer), RDF + Azotobacter, RDF + Azotobacter + Vermicompost @ 3.0 t ha-1, RDF + Azotobacter + Vermicompost @ 4.0 t ha-1, RDF + Azotobacter + Vermicompost @ 5.0 t ha-1, RDF + Azotobacter + FYM @ 4.0 t ha-1, RDF + Azotobacter + FYM @ 8.0 t ha-1, and RDF + Azotobacter + FYM @ 12.0 t ha-1 were setup in a randomized block design with three replications. The highest plant height at 30 DAS (21.67 cm) and 90 DAS (99.50 cm), the number of total (5.52) and productive (5.15) tillers /plant, the initial (115.25) and final (459) plant population /m2, the spike length (11.15 cm), the number of grains /spike (54.60), the grain weight /spike (2.26 g) and test weight (41.45 g), biological yield (131.25 q/ha), grain yield (56.40 q/ha), straw yield (74.85 q/ha), and harvest index (42.98) were found to be most effectively affected by the combination of RDF + Azotobacter + Vermi-compost @ 5.0 t ha-1.Therefore, the growth and yield of wheat might be increased by up to 16–18% beyond the prescribed fertilizer dosages when the seed was infected with Azotobacter @ 1 packet Azotobacter with 10 kg seed and soil amended with Vermi–compost @ 5 t/ha in addition to RDF.