Book of Extended summaries ISDA

International Conference on Reimagining Rainfed Agro-ecosystems: Challenges &
Opportunities during 22-24, December 2022 at ICAR-CRIDA, Hyderabad
impact on the production and productivity. Drought is one of the main environmental factors that
negatively affect plant growth and development and productivity. In plants, drought is associated
with other stresses, for example, osmotic stress produced by dehydration, which diminishes cell
expansion. A microbial consortium involves two or more microbial groups living symbiotically.
Consortia can be endosymbiotic or ectosymbiotic. Microbial consortium is specially formulated
microbial inoculants. It contains N- fixing, P and Zn solubilizing and K mobilizing and plant
growth promoting bacteria. To increase the productivity of sorghum in kharif season, an
experiment was conducted to study the response of microbial consortia on productivity of
sorghum (sorghum bicolar L.) and soil quality under rainfed conditions of Marathawadaregion.
Methodology
The study was conducted at research farm of All India Coordinated Research Project on Dry
Land Agriculture, VNMKV, Parbhani during kharif season 2018-20. The experiment comprises
of seven treatments including two types of microbial consortia culture (C1 & C2) along with
three methods (seed, soil and seed + soil) of culture application and was laid out in a randomized
block design with three replications. Microbial consortia culture (C1& C2) was procured from
ICAR-CRIDA, Hyderabad before sowing of the experiment. For seed treatment, microbial
consortia culture (C 1&C 2 ) were applied @ 250g 10 Kg -1 of seed and for soil application 2.5 kg
culture powder ha -1 were applied,immediately before sowing. The recommended doses of
chemical fertilizer were applied at the time of sowing.
Results
Yield and monetary returns:
Application of microbial consortia significantly increased grain yield, straw yield and returns of
sorghum. Application of microbial consortia C 2 in T 6 (Seed treatment + Soil appication of
consortia 2) gave grain and straw yield i.e. 2510 and 7279 Kg ha -1 respectively as compared to
other treatment. However, it was at par with treatment T 3 (Seed tresatment + Soil application of
consortia 1). Similar trend was recorded in case of gross returns (GR), net returns (NR) and B: C
ratio. The production of proline and osmoregulantsenabled the crop to withstand the water stress
due to dry spell. These isolates were capable of increasing shoot and leaf biomass, shoot length
and photosynthesis. (Kavya et al. 2015)
Grain yield, straw yield (Kgha -1 ), GMR, NMR and B: C ratio as influenced with use of
Consortia culture in sorghum
Treatments
Grain yield
(Kg ha -1 )
Straw yield
(Kg ha -1 )
G R
(Rs.)
N R
(Rs.)
B:C Ratio
T 1: Seed treatment (C 1) 1952 4489 63243 38943 2.60
446 | Page Sustainable soil management for resilient rainfed agro-ecosystem: conservation agriculture, organic farming, INM,
soil-microorganisms-plant interactions