Efficacy assessment of cyanobacterial biofertilizer in maize cropping in indo-gangetic plains

Abstract

Increasing demand for safe and contamination free agricultural produce has led organic farming to emerge as a global alternative of chemical fertilizer based agriculture. India is one of the leading countries for certified organic produce and maize is one among the five major cereal crops in the country. Maize is a staple food crop, which serves as food source for a large human population, feed for cattle and raw material for many industries. It has high yield potential and cultivated in almost all the states of India. Maize grains are rich in protein, vitamins (especially vitamin A, nicotinic acid, riboflavin and vitamin E), phosphorus and other nutrients. Bio-fertilizer supplemented organic farming has emerged as an important step towards maintaining soil fertility stability and seed yield. Use of cyanobacterial bio-fertilizer is cost effective and helps maintaining soil health. The present study was undertaken to assess the efficacy of cyanobacterial biofertilizer on overall yield and sustainability of maize production. The randomized block design of the experiment consists of one crop species (Zea mays L.), five treatments (cyanobacterial biomass supplement (CBS), recommended dose of NPK, two independent bacterial inoculums and a control set), three replications and three independent experimental repeat. The results showed that soil amendment with cyanobacterial biomass supported significantly higher plant growth, grain and fodder yield over control and close to that of NPK amended sets. Both the grain and fodder yields increased consistently in the next two cropping supplemented with same level of CBS. The same level of NPK amendment however, did show a marginal decline in grain yield in third year. Although more extensive and repetitive field trials are required, the study provides evidence that cyanobacterial bio-fertilizer can help obtain sustained yield and overcome the constraints of diminishing return observed in chemical fertilizer based agriculture sector. © 2017 by Nova Science Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.