Role of Microbial Inoculants and Their Consortia in Enhancing Maize Yield and Soil Nutrient Availability Under Vertisol Conditions

The present field experiment was undertaken at Wheat and Maize Research Unit, Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Krishi Vidyapeeth, Parbhani to assess the Compatibility and Influence of Microbial Inoculants and their Consortia on Maize Grown on Vertisol during Kharif season of 2022. Ten different treatment combinations were used in the experiment which includes different microbial inoculants and their consortia Azospirillum + Bacillus megaterium (Consortia-I), Azospirillum + Frateuria aurantia (Consortia-II), Azospirillum + Thiobacillus thioxidase (Consortia-III), Azospirillum + Psedomonas strita (Consortia-ⅠⅤ), Azospirillum + Bacillus megaterium + Frateuria aurantia (Consortia-Ⅴ), Azospirillum + Bacillus megaterium + Thiobacillus thioxidase (Consortia-ⅤI), Azospirillum + Bacillus megaterium + Psedomonas strita (Consortia-ⅤII), and control replicated there in RBD (Randomized Block Design). Seed treatment of maize was done with microbial inoculants consortia @ 10 ml kg-1 seed and application at the time of sowing with recommended dose of fertilizers. Significantly higher value, of available N, P2O5 and K2O5 were recorded at tasseling and harvesting stage of maize in treatment receiving RDF + Azospirillum + PSB + ZnSB. Further, DTPA Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu were recorded maximum at tasseling and harvest stage of maize in the treatment receiving RDF + Azospirillum + PSB + ZnSB as soil is deficient in Zn and Fe. The treatment with RDF + Azospirillum + PSB + ZnSB treatment also increased the content and uptake of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and micronutrients (Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu) in maize significantly. The soil microbial quality attributes were also improved significantly with RDF + Azospirillum + PSB + ZnSB, the maximum bacterial, actinomycetes and fungal population was seen in the treatment with RDF + Azospirillum + PSB + ZnSB in soil at tasseling and harvest stage of maize. The treatment receiving RDF + Azospirillum + PSB + ZnSB showed the higher values of soil enzymes i.e., dehydrogenase, acid phosphatase, and alkaline phosphates at tasseling and harvesting stage of maize.