Influence of Organic Nutrient Sources and Seed Inoculation Practices on Growth, Productivity and Profitability of Mungbean [Vigna radiata (L.) R. Wilczek]
A field experiment entitled Effect of Organic Manures, Rhizobium and Bijamrit on Growth and Yield of Mungbean [Vigna radiata (L.) R. Wilczek]” was conducted at the Dr. B.R.C. Agricultural Research Station, Mandor, during Kharif 2024 on a loamy sand soil. The experiment was laid out in a Factorial Randomized Block Design (FRBD) with twelve treatment combinations replicated three times. The treatments comprised four organic manures, viz., FYM @ 6 t ha⁻¹, vermicompost @ 2 t ha⁻¹, poultry manure @ 0.75 t ha⁻¹, and Jivamrit @ 500 L ha⁻¹ (soil application) + 10% foliar spray at 30 DAS, along with three seed treatments, viz., Bijamrit @ 200 ml kg⁻¹ seed, Rhizobium @ 25 ml kg⁻¹ seed, and Bijamrit + Rhizobium. The results revealed that nutrient management through organic sources significantly influenced the growth and yield attributes of mungbean. Application of poultry manure @ 0.75 t ha⁻¹ significantly increased plant height, dry matter accumulation, branches per plant, pods per plant, grains per pod, grain yield, stover yield, and biological yield over the other organic manures; however, it remained statistically at par with vermicompost @ 2 t ha⁻¹. Similar trends were observed for seed protein content, available soil N, P, and K at harvest, and microbial population at harvest. The highest benefit-cost ratio (4.1) was recorded with poultry manure. Among the seed treatments, the combined application of Bijamrit @ 200 ml kg⁻¹ seed and Rhizobium @ 25 ml kg⁻¹ seed recorded the highest growth and yield attributes and was found statistically at par with Rhizobium @ 25 ml kg⁻¹ seed alone. The highest benefit-cost ratio (3.4) was also recorded under the combined application of Bijamrit and Rhizobium. The study concluded that the application of poultry manure @ 0.75 t ha⁻¹ along with seed treatment of Bijamrit @ 200 ml kg⁻¹ seed + Rhizobium @ 25 ml kg⁻¹ seed significantly enhanced mungbean yield and economic returns.