Response of Malt Barley Hordeum vulgare L to Fertility Levels and Biofertilizers

Abstract

newline A field experiment entitled Response of Malt Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) newlineto Fertility Levels and Biofertilizers was conducted on clay loam soil having low newlinein available nitrogen (278.36 to 279.42 kg ha-1 newline), medium in available phosphorus newline(18.73 to 20.39 kg ha-1 newline) and high in available potassium status (328.40 to 332.72 kg newlineha-1 newline) with slightly alkaline in reaction at the Instructional Farm, Department of newlineAgronomy, Rajasthan College of Agriculture, MPUAT, Udaipur during the rabi newlineseasons of 2020-21 and 2021-22 with the objective to evaluate the response of malt newlinebarley to fertility levels and biofertilizers. The experiment comprised of three fertility newlinelevels (70 kg N+40 kg P2O5 +25 kg K2O ha-1 newline, 60 kg N+30 kg P2O5+20 kg K2O ha-1 newlineand 50 kg N+25 kg P2O5+15 kg K2O ha-1 newline) and five liquid biofertilizers (Control, newlineAzotobacter, PSB, KMB and Azotobacter + PSB + KMB) thereby involving 15 newlinetreatment combination which was replicated four time in factorial randomized block newlinedesign. newlineThe malt barley crop fertilized with 70 kg N+40 kg P2O5 +25 kg K2O ha-1 newlinesignificantly enhanced plant height, dry matter accumulation at successive growth newlinestages, LAI, number of total tillers, chlorophyll content, growth efficiency, NDVI and newlineGDD values which was significantly higher over rest of fertility levels during both newlineyears. These improvement manifested in the production of higher effective tillers, ear newlinelength, filled spikelets ear-1 newline, grains ear-1 newline, grain weight ear-1 newlineand test weight with the newlineconcomitant increase in productivity in terms of grain, straw and biological yields. newlineThe magnitude of increase was to the tune of 13.2, 7.1, 9.1 and 22.9, 21.4, 21.9 per newlinecent over application of 60 kg N+30 kg P2O5+20 kg K2O ha-1 newlineand 50 kg N+25 kg newlineP2O5+15 kg K2O ha-1 newline, respectively.The application of 70 kg N+40 kg P2O5 +25 kg newlineK2O ha-1 newlinesignificantly improved protein content in grain and average grain weight while aforesaid fertility level registered least malt yield and starch content in grain as newlinecompared to application of 60 kg N+30 kg P2O5+20 k