Effect of microbial biofilm in the sustainable production of chrysanthemum

Abstract

The study was undertaken to analyze the effect of cyanobacteria biofilm inoculants on plant growth, floral attributes, soil microbial and nutrient parameters of Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat cvs. Pusa Sona and Pusa Chitraksha. Plant spread increased by 49% and 36.1% in Pusa Sona and Pusa Chitraksha over the control (T1). Treatment T7 (Anabaena-Trichoderma (An-Tz) two times drench plus 732:1406:375 mg NPK/Pot) showed 25.6% and 56.2% increase over the control for the number of flowers per plant in cvs. Pusa Sona and Pusa Chitraksha, respectively. Available soil nitrogen increased by 74.9% in Pusa Sona and 57.4% in Pusa Chitraksha with the treatment T6 (Anabaena-Nostoc (BF1-4) two times drench along with 732:1406:375 mg NPK/pot) as compared to the uninoculated control. Treatments T6 and T7 were particularly promising in most plant and soil-related parameters. In addition, applying biofertilizers saved 25% of nitrogen fertilizers, besides improving soil health.