Pakistan J. Agric. Res. Vol. 25 No. 1, 2012 BIOFERTILIZER- A POSSIBLE SUBSITUTE OF FERTILIZERS IN PRODUCTION OF WHEAT VARIETY ZARDANA IN BALOCHISTAN Amanullah, Ahmed Aziz Kurd, Saifullah Khan,Munir Ahmed and Jahangir Khan* ABSTRACT: -The study was conducted to investigate the effect of biofertilizer on wheat variety Zardana production at four locations of -1 -1 Balochistan. Biofertilizer (Azospirillum A1-Q + N 45 kg ha , P25O 30 kg ha ) was used to substitute for half of the Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) fertilizer -1, application rates as compared to a high fertilizer treatment (N 90 kgha P25O 60 kgha-1). The high mineral fertilizer and biofertilizer + half mineral fertilizer treatments were compared with a control treatment (no fertilizer). Significant grain yield were measured at all sites, although, at all sites both fertilizer treatments apparently out yielded the control and the biofertilizer + half mineral fertilizer treatment out yielded the high fertilizer treatment by 220- 1180 kgha-1. Fresh yields differed significantly at all sites. At Mastung field, both fertilizer treatments out yielded the control by 3000 kgha-1 and at Quetta (Aghbarg field-2) the biofertilizer + half mineral fertilizer treatment out yielded the others by over 3000 kgha-1. The results proved that the application -1 -1 of biofertilizer in combination with N 45kgha and P25O 30 kgha increased fresh yield from11% to 59% and suggested increases in grain yield of 20-46% as compared with control treatment. Key Words: Wheat; Biofertilizer; Nitrogen; Phosphorus; Yield; Yield Component; Pakistan. INTRODUCTION atmospheric nitrogen, solublize and mobilize phosphorous, translocate Biofertilizer is defined as a minor elements like zinc and copper substance which contains living to the plants, produce plant growth organisms that when applied to seed, promoting hormones, vitamins and plant surface, or soil, colonize the amino acids and control plant rhizosphere or the interior of plant pathogenic fungi. It improves soil and promote growth by increasing health and increases crop production. supply or availability of primary Biofertilizer like Rhizobium, nutrients to the host plant (Vessey, Azotobacter, Azospirillum and blue 2003). Biofertilizers are well recogni- green algae have been used for many zed as an important component of years. Azospirillum inoculants are integrated plant nutrient manage- recommended mainly for wheat, ment for sustainable agriculture and sorghum, millets, maize, sugarcane hold a great promise to improve crop and vegetable crops. Plant growth yield (Narula et al., 2005). Microbial promoting rhizobacteria are free inoculation or biofertilizer is an living microorganisms having important component of organic beneficial effects on plants by farming as the microbes help to fix colonizing their roots. They include *PARC-Arid Zone Research Centre, Brewery Road, Quetta, Pakistan. Corresponding author:[email protected] 44 AMANULLAH ET AL. such effects as the production of irrigated wheat, is grown on the most phytohormones; auxin, cytokinins fertile soils and receives mineral and gibberellins (Garcia et al., 2001), fertilizers. On the contrary, rainfed enhancing release of the nutrients barley is grown on the most marginal (Nautiyal et al., 2000). The microor- soils with low inherent fertility; this ganisms involved in P solubilization observation is supported by other can enhance plant growth by researchers (Raj and Gaur, 1988; Ali increasing the efficiency of biological et al., 2005). The study was nitrogen fixation, enhancing the conducted to investigate the effect of availability of other trace elements Azospirillum biofertilizer on wheat and by production of plant growth variety Zardana production under promoting substances (Gyaneshwar irrigation at four different locations of et al., 2002). In the last century after Balochistan. the introduction of chemical fertilizer farmers were initially happy with the MATERIALS AND METHOD increased yield in agriculture. But slowly chemical fertilizers started This study was conducted at displaying their ill- effects such as four locations i.e. Aghbarg-1, leaching out and polluting water Aghbarg-2, Umer Dhor and Mastung basins, destroying micro-organisms in Balochistan under irrigated and friendly insects, making the crop conditions during rabi 2009-2010. more susceptible to the attack of All the sites are in the cold highlands o diseases. Much of the attention has with minimum temperature of -12 C focused on seed inoculation by or below. The soil differences were different types of bacteria for increa- also recorded for different sites. sing agricultural production, to limit Randomized soil samples were the use of chemical fertilizer and collected at the depths of 0-5 cm, 15- environmental pollution through 30 cm and 30-45 cm from each seed inoculation by different types of location. These samples were bacteria (Abd El Humid and Amal, analyzed at the soil chemistry labora- 1994; Abd El- Ghany and Bouthaina, tory of Arid Zone Research Centre, 1994). Quetta. An improved wheat variety, Azotobacter and Azospirillum 'Zardana' was used as test crop. Seed -1 have previously significantly @ 125 kgha were applied during the increased wheat and barley yield in second week of November. The irrigated as well as in rainfed crops sowing was carried out on November (Pauw De et al., 2008). Biofertilizer 8, 2009 at Aghbarg-1 and 2; treatment increased irrigated grain November 9, 2009 at Umer Dhor and yield by 11% in Honam, while the November 11, 2009 at Mastung. yield of rainfed barley increased by Three treatments were uninoculated 36% grain yield of irrigated wheat and unfertilized (control), high -1 increased by 24% while rainfed mineral fertilizer, N 90 kgha and -1 barley yield doubled (Ali et al., 2005). P25O 60 kgha , Biofertilizer + half These differences in response are mineral fertilizer, N 45 kgha-1 and -1. suggested to be an effect of the P25O 30 kgha Nitrogen and fertility level of the soil and fertilizer phosphorus were applied at the time application. Wheat, and in particular of sowing in the form of urea and 45 BIOFERTILIZER A POSSIBLE SUBSITUTE OF FERTILIZERS triple super phosphate were applied Umer Dhor field revealed a saline clay at the sowing time. Treatment was loam, high in alkalinity and low in replicated thrice in a randomized organic matter. complete block design. Each The data revealed that, alth- treatment plot size was kept 1333m2 ough biofertilizer application and total plot size was one acre in appeared to increase plant height at each experimental location with a all locations, the effects were non row to row distance of 25cm. Seeds significant.(Table 1) The same type of were treated with calculated study was carried out by Mohammad quantities of biofertilizer (A1-Q) (2002) who reported that a treatment provided by National Agricultural receiving P+ Azotobacter improved Research Centre, Islamabad. The plant height, number of tillers and crop was harvested during the third spikes per plant and significantly week of May. Three samples of 1m2 increased grain, shoot and biomass from each treatment were randomly yield of a wheat crop. collected in terms of fresh yield at the The effect of biofertilizer vegetative growth stage. At Aghbarg- application on fresh biomass yield at 1 and 2 sample was collected after Mastung and Aghbarg-2 (Quetta) was 145days of sowing while at Umer significant whereas at Aghbarg-1 Dhor and Mastung collection was (Quetta) and Umer Dhor Dasht field it made after 151 and 147 days, was non-significant. At Mastung field, respectively. However, plant height both fertilizer treatments out-yielded (cm), No. of tillers m-2, total dry the control by 3000 kgha-1 and at matter kgha-1 were recorded at Aghbarg field-2 the biofertilizer + half maturity stage. After threshing and mineral fertilizer treatment out cleaning grain yield and 1000 grain yielded the others by over 3000 kgha-1. weight were recorded. All Biofertilizer application significantly observations were analyzed by using increased number of tillers m-2 at Fisher's analysis of variance Mastung but not at the other techniques and differences among locations although, again, the treatment means were compared by biofertilizer treatment tended to using the LSD test at P< 0.05(Steel produce more tillers at all locations and Torrie, 1980). (Table 1). Use of fertilizer increased total RESULTS AND DISCUSSION dry matter yield at all locations (Table 1), although at Mastung field this was Soil Analysis non-significant. At Aghbarg-2 the biofertilizer treatment significantly Soil samples from Mastung out yielded both the high mineral field was silty clay loam, low in fertilizer treatment and the control, organic matter, with pH 8.3 and while at Aghbarg -1 and Umer Dhor CaCO3 was present. Soil from Dasht the biofertilizer treatment out Aghbarg was slightly saline, clay yielded only the control. loam with low organic matter it Both fertilizer treatments showed moderate alkalinity with pH significantly increased 1000 grain weight (g) over the control at 7.9, CaCO3 was comparatively less than other sites. Soil Soil samples of Aghbarg-1, Aghbarg-2 and Umer 46 AMANULLAH ET AL. Dhor Dasht and, although grains and Somani (1990) reported that the tended to be larger with biofertilizer beneficial effect of P and treatment than mineral fertilizer Azotobacterization applied alone and alone, these differences were not in combination on the yield, yield significant. components and N P uptake by wheat The data also revealed that,