Influence of Phosphorus and Potassium in Combination with Biofertilizers on Growth of Cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp]

Abstract

During the kharif season of 2018, a field experiment titled "Influence of phosphorus and potassium in combination with biofertilizers on growth of cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp]" was carried out at the crop research farm of the Division of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir. The soil in the experimental field had the texture of clay loam, was neutral in reaction (pH 6.9), had low available nitrogen, low available phosphorus, medium available potassium, and medium organic carbon. The experiment was laid out in Randomized Block Design (RBD) design with nine treatments and three replications. The results of the experiment revealed that growth of the crop was significantly influenced by different treatments and Among various treatments, application of RDF (30 N, 60 P2O5, 30 K2O) kg ha-1+ seed inoculation with Phosphorus Solubilizing Bacteria (PSB) + Potassium Solubilizing Bacteria (KSB) significantly recorded maximum plant height (86.18 cm), leaf area index (3.62), dry matter production (16.20 q ha-1) and it also significantly increased the number of effective root nodules per plant of cowpea.