Influences of Enterobacter Cloacae Strain Fg 5-2 and Its Vermicompost and Nitrogen Fertilizer Usage Efficiency on Groundnut Yield

Abstract

Reducing production costs by replacing chemical nitrogen fertilizer (CNF) with natural nitrogen fertilizers from endophytic nitrogen-fixing bacteria is an optimally alternative solution to utilize natural nitrogen sources from biological nitrogen fixation to improve crop yields. Three levels of nitrogen (N) and vermicompost (VMC) application combined with Enterobacter cloacae strain Fg 5-2 (EC strain Fg 5-2) inoculation, which were carried out in 2 experiments, aimed to evaluate its impacts on the groundnut output. The 2 experiments consisted of 0, 20, 40 kg N ha–1 and 0, 5.0, 10 t VMC ha–1 application associated with EC strain Fg 5-2 inoculation and 4 replications. Results observed that 50 % CNF reduction, which increased up to 16.5 % of the groundnut yield compared to no CNF application, was no yield difference of the 100 % CNF application. Application of 10 t VMC ha–1 associated with EC strain Fg 5-2 inoculation increased up to 38.4 % compared to no VMC amendment. The groundnut yield of experiment 1 and 2 remarkably increased up to 19.6 and 12.9 %, respectively, with the EC strain Fg 5-2 inoculation compared to the non- EC strain Fg 5-2 inoculation. Application of VMC was the high efficiency on the nodulous number and weight of groundnut. Application of 20 kg N or 10 t VMC ha–1 combined with EC strain Fg 5-2 inoculation adequately reached highest groundnut yield. These selected results are the best associated rate to reduce CNF by applying EC strain Fg 5-2 inoculation to improve farmland nutrients and increase the groundnut yield.