Minor Research Project : Executive Summary

Effect of Co-inoculating Gum Liquid Inoculums of Rhizobium japonicum and Azotobacter chroococcum on Grain yield of Glycine max and molecular study of nif gene.”

Minor Research Project
Funded by U.G.C.
F.No.:MS-23/102054/15-16/CRO/General
2016 - 2018

1. Summary

India is mostly depend upon the agricultural production. Need for more intensive and economic agricultural production and to full fill the apitite of the growing population led to indiscriminate use of high doses of chemical fertilizers, pesticides etc., use of these chemicals not only alter the eco-system but also claim death to many lives every year due to their hazardous nature.
Biofertilizers are defined as preparations containing living cells or viable cells of efficient strains of microorganisms that help crop plants uptake of nutrients by their interactions in the rhizosphere when applied through seed or soil. They accelerate certain microbial processes in the soil which augment the extent of availability of nutrients in a form easily assimilated by plants. In arid and semi-arid area where the moisture is limiting factor there is no chance or sometime less chances of giving top dressing of fertilizers. In such situation biofertilizers are the cheap source to maintain fertility as well as soil moisture.
The biofertilizer technology is basically a microbial technology. In the initial years government subsidized the biofertilizers so that small and marginal farmers could easily be adopting it. The government also encourage the private firms and research institutes to come together, cooperate and promote training and extension activity at farm level for farmers.
There is great need to increase farm production to overcome the requirement of food for increasing population without damaging the environment. The more use of chemical fertilizers are harmful to living soil and therefore the use of biofertilizers and are required which improve the soil fertility without any harmful effect to the soil.
Comparative studies indicate that viable counts are more in liquid medium than in lignite carrier. Liquid bio-fertilizer formulation could be considered as one potential strategy for improving the shelf-life of bio-fertilizer. Further, solid carrier based bio-fertilizers are less thermo-tolerant where as liquid formulations can tolerate the temperature as high as 50°C . Hence, improved shelf-life could be achieved by the application of a liquid bio-fertilizer formulation. Process cost of liquid bio-fertilizer is significantly higher than a solid formulation. Thus, successful commercialization of less expensive liquid bio-fertilizer is a challenge and shelf-life of such products is still a concern.
The outcome of this study suggests that in production of biofertilizer screening of high temperature tolerant strain of Rhizobium japonicum and Azotobacter chroococcum in gums as carrier in compared to lignite could be key to sustain legume productivity in tropical regions of our country.

2. Objectives
Looking to above facts a study entitled, “Effect of co-inoculating gum liquid inoculums of Rhizobium japonicum and Azotobacter chroococcum on Grain yield of Glycine max and molecular study of nif gene.” was conducted with following objectives:-

1. New approach to use different types of gums as carrier of biofertilizer rather than using lignite.
2. Improved shelf-life by the application of liquid bio-fertilizer formulation.
3. Dual inoculation with gums as carrier resulted in improved performance of seed control.
4. To increase the yield of soybean.
5. Protect the environment from chemical pollutants .

3. Suggestions for the further research
The present study throw light on the new areas, where further research work needs to be carried:
Process cost of liquid bio-fertilizer is significantly higher than a solid formulation. Thus, successful commercialization of less expensive liquid bio-fertilizer is a challenge .
Dual inoculation of Rhizobium japonicum + Azotobacter chroococcum was found to be beneficial over chemical fertilizers and would be recommended as biological fertilizer for soybean production in M.P. In addition, for other parts of the country, similar experiments should be carried out to increase the yield of soybean, protect the environment from chemical pollutants
The isolation and cloning of the plasmids in this study are in progress, and the characterization of nif gene and other genes present should produce valuable information about these symbionts.