The productivity of sweet corn must be continuously improved to meet increasing market demand. Inorganic fertilizers may reduce soil fertility. The application of (PGPR) derived from bamboo roots, which function as biofertilizers and biostimulants by enhancing nutrient availability and stimulating plant growth. Appropriate plant spacing is also an important agronomic practice for optimizing the use of light, water, nutrients, and growing space. This study aimed to evaluate the interaction between plant spacing and bamboo root PGPR concentration on the growth and yield of sweet corn. The experiment was conducted in Potroyudan Village, Jepara from December 2024 to March 2025 using a two-factor Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD). The first factor consisted of three plant spacings (75 × 40 cm, 75 × 30 cm, and 75 × 20 cm), while the second factor included three PGPR concentrations (0, 25, and 50 ml L⁻¹). Data were analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by Duncan's Multiple Range Test (DMRT) at the 5% significance level. The interaction between plant spacing and PGPR concentration significantly affected plant height only at 6 weeks after planting. Plant spacing significantly influenced stem diameter, cob weight with husk, and cob length without husk. The 75 × 40 cm spacing produced the highest cob weight (276.48 g) and longest cob length (19.44 cm). PGPR concentration showed no significant effect, although 25 ml L⁻¹ tended to produce better growth and yield. Overall, plant spacing contributed more to sweet corn productivity than bamboo root PGPR under the conditions of this study.
Tomato production requires adequate nutrient availability to sustain high yield and biomass production, while efficient nutrient acquisition remains important under reduced fertilizer inputs. The integration of AMF and PGPR offers a potential biological approach to improve nutrient acquisition and plant productivity. A field experiment was conducted during Rabi season of 2023-24 and 2024-25 at the Research Farm of the Vegetable Research Centre, Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Krishi Vidyapeeth, Parbhani, Maharashtra, India to evaluate the effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) on tomato yield, dry matter production, nutrient concentration and nutrient uptake under different fertilizer levels and methods of microbial application. The experiment comprised twelve treatments arranged in a randomized block design with three replications. Application of 75% RDF + AMF + Pseudomonas fluorescens + Bacillus megaterium + Trichoderma viride through soil application (T₁₂) consistently recorded the highest yield and nutrient accumulation. Pooled analysis showed that T₁₂ produced the maximum fruit yield (376.74 q ha⁻¹) and dry matter yield (46.34 q ha⁻¹). The treatment also recorded the highest N (1.97%), P (0.30%) and K (1.99%) concentrations, with corresponding N, P and K uptake of 91.43, 13.83 and 92.53 kg ha⁻¹, respectively. Compared with 100% RDF, T₁₂ increased fruit yield by 27.27%, demonstrating that the microbial consortium effectively complemented a 25% reduction in mineral fertilizer application. Soil application generally resulted in greater responses than seedling application, indicating more effective establishment and activity of the microbial inoculants in the rhizosphere. The integration of AMF and PGPR with 75% RDF can improve tomato productivity, biomass production and N, P and K accumulation while reducing mineral fertilizer input by 25% under Vertisol conditions.
Nikita D. Pardeshi, R. Khandare, M. N. Ingole et al.· Journal of Scientific Resear...· 0 citations
Optimizing fertilizer inputs through the integration of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) offers a viable approach to enhance bermudagrass growth, quality and resource use efficiency. This study was aimed to evaluate the effects of various fertilizer regimes on growth and quality attributes of Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers. ‘Fine Dacca’ under agro-ecological conditions of Faisalabad, Pakistan. Six fertilizer treatments, viz. no fertilization (control), N, NPK, NPK + Fe, NPK + Fe + PGPR (MN-54, Bacillus spp.) and polymer coated DAP were applied. Experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. Among tested fertilizer regimes, NPK + Fe + PGPR produced superior results for various growth and quality attributes were recorded, as highest tiller length (11.5 cm), number of tillers (27.8), leaves per tiller (13.8), leaf area (0.67 cm2), and leaf blade length (18.8 cm), along with higher fresh and dry weight of tillers (4.1 g and 1.7 g, respectively), chlorophyll contents (0.26 mg g-1) and stolon diameter (0.94 mm). In contrast, grass fertilized with polymer coated DAP resulted in the highest moisture percentage (60.8%). Turf quality attributes including uniformity, density, texture, smoothness and color were also significantly improved under NPK + Fe + PGPR application. Leaf nitrogen content was highest (3.9%) with NPK + Fe + PGPR and NPK + Fe applications, whereas phosphorus (0.9%) and potassium (1.8%) were recorded highest under polymer-coated DAP and NPK treatments, respectively. It was concluded that integrating macronutrients with Fe and PGPR enhanced bermudagrass growth and aesthetic quality, indicating its potential as an effective alternative to conventional fertilization practices.
M. Tanveer, I. Ahmad, Tazkia Hussain· Journal of Applied Research...· 0 citations
Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas L.) is an important food crop in tropical regions, but its productivity remains low on infertile soils where suboptimal agronomic practices, including inappropriate plant spacing, restrict plant growth and tuber development. This study evaluated the effect of different plant spacing arrangements on the growth and yield of sweet potato cultivated under low soil fertility conditions. A randomized complete block design with six spacing treatments J1 (40 × 30 cm), J2 (50 × 50 cm), J3 (75 × 30 cm), and J4 (75 × 50 cm) and three replications was used. Growth parameters and yield components were analyzed using analysis of variance followed by the Honest Significant Difference (HSD) test at the 5% significance level. Plant spacing significantly affected vegetative growth and tuber yield. The spacing of 75 × 50 cm produced the best overall performance, resulting in the highest plant height (278.83 cm), the greatest number of leaves (33.28 leaves plant⁻¹), the largest tuber diameter (5.49 cm), the highest tuber weight per plant (2.83 oz plant⁻¹), and the highest tuber weight per plot (4.53 kg plot⁻¹), equivalent to an estimated yield of 12.58 t ha⁻¹. The superior performance of this spacing is attributed to a more favorable balance between plant population and competition for light, water, and nutrients, thereby enhancing photosynthetic efficiency and assimilate partitioning to storage roots. These findings demonstrate that optimizing plant spacing is an effective and practical agronomic strategy for improving sweet potato productivity on low-fertility soils and may contribute to more sustainable sweet potato production in similar agroecological environments.
Keywords: sweet potato, plant spacing, low-fertility soil, tuber yield, agronomic management.
ABSTRAK
Ubi jalar (Ipomoea batatas L.) merupakan tanaman pangan penting di wilayah tropis, namun produktivitasnya masih rendah pada tanah kurang subur akibat praktik agronomi yang suboptimal seperti pengaturan jarak tanam yang tidak tepat yang menghambat pertumbuhan tanaman dan perkembangan umbi. Penelitian ini mengevaluasi pengaruh berbagai pengaturan jarak tanam terhadap pertumbuhan dan hasil ubi jalar yang dibudidayakan pada kondisi tanah dengan tingkat kesuburan rendah. Penelitian menggunakan rancangan acak kelompok lengkap dengan enam perlakuan jarak tanam J1 (40 × 30 cm), J2 (50 × 50 cm), J3 (75 × 30 cm), dan J4 (75 × 50 cm) serta tiga ulangan. Parameter pertumbuhan dan komponen hasil dianalisis menggunakan analisis ragam yang diikuti dengan uji Beda Nyata Jujur (BNJ) pada taraf signifikansi 5%. Jarak tanam berpengaruh nyata terhadap pertumbuhan vegetatif dan hasil umbi. Jarak tanam 75 × 50 cm menghasilkan performa terbaik secara keseluruhan, dengan capaian berupa tinggi tanaman tertinggi (278,83 cm), jumlah daun terbanyak (33,28 helai tanaman⁻¹), diameter umbi terbesar (5,49 cm), bobot umbi per tanaman tertinggi (2,83 oz tanaman⁻¹), dan bobot umbi per petak tertinggi (4,53 kg petak⁻¹), yang setara dengan estimasi hasil 12,58 ton ha⁻¹. Performa unggul pada jarak tanam ini disebabkan oleh keseimbangan yang lebih baik antara populasi tanaman dan kompetisi untuk mendapatkan cahaya, air, dan hara, sehingga meningkatkan efisiensi fotosintesis serta alokasi asimilat ke akar penyimpanan (umbi). Temuan ini menunjukkan bahwa optimalisasi jarak tanam merupakan strategi agronomi yang efektif dan praktis untuk meningkatkan produktivitas ubi jalar pada tanah kurang subur, serta dapat berkontribusi pada produksi ubi jalar yang lebih berkelanjutan di lingkungan agroekologi serupa.
Kata kunci: ubi jalar, jarak tanam, tanah kurang subur, hasil umbi, pengelolaan agronomi.
Background: Maize (Zea mays L.) is one of the world's most important cereal crops, and improving its productivity while reducing dependence on chemical fertilizers has become a major goal of sustainable agriculture. The potential role of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) as a biofertilizer evolved as appropriate substitute to neutralize adverse environmental impacts wielded by manmade agrochemical.
Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the effects of Pseudomonas fluorescens and Bacillus subtilis, individually and in combination, on the growth and yield of maize compared with conventional NPK fertilization.
Methods: A field experiment was conducted during the 2025 growing season at the Field Crops Research Station, College of Agriculture, University of Samarra, using a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replicates. Six treatments were evaluated: Untreated control (T1), Pseudomonas fluorescens (T2), Bacillus subtilis (T3), combined inoculation (P. fluorescens + B. subtilis) (T4), combined inoculation with NPK fertilizer (T5), and NPK fertilizer (20:20:20) only (T6). Vegetative growth and yield-related traits were recorded and statistically analyzed.
Results: Inoculation of plants with PGPR bacteria resulted in a significant improvement in both vegetative growth and yield compared to the untreated control group. Pseudomonas fluorescens (T2) exhibited the highest vegetative growth rate, recording the highest plant height (148.00 cm), leaf area (365.00 cm²), leaf area index (2.63), and number of grains per spike (688 grains) compared control group recorded (92.33 cm), (10.67 plant⁻¹), (151.73 cm²), (0.70) respectively. Bacillus subtilis (T3), achieved the highest productivity, producing the largest number of spikes per plant (2.67 spikes) and the highest spike weight (283.50 g) compared control group recorded (2.00) and (161.60 g).
Conclusion: The use of PGPR, and especially Pseudomonas fluorescens and Bacillus subtilis as potential biofertilisation agents is a promising sustainable alternative to chemical fertilisation that can enhance maize growth and production, while decreasing dependence on mineral fertilisers.
Waser saad Khalaf, Ahmed waleed Abdulrahman· International Journal of Bio...· 0 citations
Marginal soils are characterized by low nutrient availability, which adversely affects crop productivity. The incorporation of organic materials and cultivation techniques plays an important role in maintaining soil health and crop yield. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of photosynthetic bacterial fertilizers and the push-pull system cultivation technique. The research was conducted in Banjaran Village, Purbalingga Regency, utilizing a completely randomized block design. Treatments tested included S0 (control), S1 (50 mL/2L), and S2 (100 mL/2L), as well as P0 (control), P1 (lemongrass), and P2 (peanuts). Each treatment was replicated three times and analyzed using ANOVA, with Duncan's Multiple Range Test (DMRT) (α=5%) applied for significant differences. The observed variables included fresh plant weight, leaf area, fresh root weight, age of male flowers, and chlorophyll a levels. The results indicate that the application of photosynthetic bacteria significantly affects the fresh weight of the plants and the age of male flowers. However, there is no significant effect on leaf area, fresh root weight, and chlorophyll a levels. The push-pull system cultivation technique significantly affects chlorophyll a levels, although no significant differences were found in fresh plant weight, leaf area, fresh root weight, and age of male flowers.
Victor Bintang Panunggul, Niken Hapsari Arimurti Susanto, Ayu Sitanini et al.· Agro Wiralodra· 0 citations
Tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum L.) are horticultural plants from the Solanaceae family that contain protein, carbohydrates, calcium, phosphate, iron, fat, and vitamins. Tomato production in Indonesia has declined due to the lack of nutrients absorbed by tomato plants. Efforts that can be made include the application of Liquid Organic Fertilizer (LOF) and Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR). This study was conducted to examine the interaction between LOF and PGPR and to determine the appropriate concentrations of LOF and PGPR for tomato plant growth and yield. The research was conducted from February to June 2025 in Ampeldento Village, Karangploso District, Malang Regency. The design used was a Factorial Randomized Group Design (FRGD) consisting of two treatment factors, namely LOF and PGPR. The LOF factor consisted of 4 treatment levels and the PGPR consisted of 3 treatment levels. Each treatment was repeated 3 times, resulting in 36 experimental units. If there was a significant effect, it was followed by a Honest Significant Difference (HSD) at the 5% level. The results showed that there was an interaction between the application of LOF concentration and PGPR concentration on the growth and yield parameters of tomato plants. The combination of 30 ml L-1 LOF and 40 ml L-1 PGPR produced higher average plant height, number of leaves, leaf area,fresh weight, dry weight, crop growth rate, total number of fruits per plant, fruit weight per plant, and fruit weight per hectare, so that combination is the appropriate treatment to support tomato plant growth and yield.
Nur Azizah Restanti, S. Tyasmoro· PLANTROPICA: Journal of Agri...· 0 citations
