CROP & ENVIRONMENT 2010, 1(1): 53-56

Effects of phosphorus in combination with

rhizobium inoculation on growth and yield
parameters of mungbean
Arif Hussain*, Amjed Ali**, Javed Akhtar* and Muhammad Yasin**
* Department of Agronomy, University of Agriculture, Faisalanbad-38040, Pakistan
** University college of agriculture, Sargodha, Pakistan. www.psa.net.pk

ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT

Article history: A pot experiment was conducted in wire house, during spring season in the institute of soil
Received: June 25, 2010 and environmental sciences at University of Agriculture, Faisalabad to study the influence
Accepted: July 13, 2010 of phosphorus fertilization and Rhizobium inoculation on growth and yield parameters of
mungbean (Vigna radiata). A composite soil sample was collected for analysis of soil for
Key words: physical and chemical properties. Phosphorus application along with Rhizobium
Mungbean inoculation increased the dry weight of nodules, roots, shoots and grains significantly.
Rhizobium Maximum dry weights were observed where recommended and 150% of the
Phosphorous recommended dose of phosphorus along with Rhizobium inoculation was applied. So it is
Nodules concluded that mungbean crop should preferably be grown with @150% of the
recommended dose of phosphorus along with Rhizobium inoculation under agro-
* Corresponding author:
ecological conditions of Faisalabad for obtaining higher yield.
amjad_786@hotmail.com
© 2010 PSA. All rights reserved

INTRODUCTION
Mungbean is one of the most important
conventional pulses grown in Pakistan. It plays an
important role not only in human diet, but also in
improving the soil fertility by fixing atmospheric
nitrogen into available form with the help of Rhizobia
species present in the nodules of its roots. However,
under our agro-ecological conditions, the nodulation of
mungbean is poor, which is the major cause of its low
yield. The area sown under this crop in the year 2008-09
was 231.1 thousand hectares with a production of 157.4
thousnd tonnes (GOP, 2009).In order to meet the
increasing need of pulses for ever growing population
over a limited land, production level of this pulse crop
should be increased. The growth and yield components
like number of pod bearing branches per plant, number
of pods per plant, number of seeds per pod and l000-
seed weight were significantly affected by inoculation
(Ali et al., 2000). Application of Brady Rhizobium or
Azotobacter or their combination significantly increased
nodulation, and root and shoot weights at 35 days after
sowing. Similarly, the number of seeds pod-1 and seed
yield was significantly influenced by the bacterial
biofertilizer. In view of poor soil fertility by crops and
poor economic condition and malnutrition problem of
the common people, the biofertilizers technology seems
to have great prospects in the country. It is therefore,
imperative to determine the effect of Rhizobium in
combination with different levels of P on nodulation,
growth and yield of mungbean cv. NM-92 under
irrigated conditions at Faisalabad.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Pot experiment was conducted during March – May
in wire houses. Broth culture was prepared by using the
composition of YEM media except agar, sterilized and
cooled and injected Rhizobium in it by inoculation
needles from the plate containing Rhizobium culture and
it was put in incubator for 3 days. After 3 days, the
broth culture was checked for Rhizobium growth under
microscope. After this 100 g sieved peat was sterilized
and broth culture was added in such a quantity that
made the whole peat wet. It was kept in incubators for
maximum multiplication of Rhizobia and after this 15
ml of sterilized sugar solution was added and seeds
were mixed in it properly.Surface soil (15 cm depth)
was air dried, mixed thoroughly and passed through 2
mm sieve. A representative sample was taken and
following physical and chemical characteristics such as
Particle-size analysis, pH of the saturated soil paste
(pHs), Electrical conductivity of the saturation extract
(ECe), Organic matter, Total nitrogen, Available
phosphorus, Extractable potassium. Seeds of mungbean
cv, NM-92 were inoculated with Rhizobium and sown in
pots containing 14 kg soil each. Recommended N and K
fertilizers @ 25 and 62 kg per hectare by using urea
@38 g per 14 kg soil and MOP @72 g per 14 kg soil
were applied at the germination time (10 days after
sowing). Four levels of P fertilizers P0, 50% of
recommended doze of P, P recommended and 150% of
the recommended dose of P were applied by using the
SSP @1.2 g per 14 kg soil, 2.4 g per 14 kg soil and 3.6

Please cite this article as: Ali, A., A. Ali, J. Akhtar and M. Yaseen. 2010. Effects of Phosphorus in combination with Rhizobium inoculation on
growth and yield parameters of mungbean. Crop Environ., 1: 53-56
 Effects of P and Rhizobium on growth and yield parameters of mungbean / Crop & Environment 2010, 1(1): 53-56
g per 14 kg of soil, respectively. In treatments,
Phosphorus alone at different levels and in combination
with Rhizobium inoculums was applied. Treatments
were replicated six times using 2-Factorial Completely
Randomized Design (CRD). Regular irrigation (15 days
interval) was done with fresh water. Fresh and oven dry
weight of nodules, roots, shoots and grains were
recorded. The data collected for various characteristics
were subjected to analysis of variance (Steel et al.,
1997) and means were compared by using Duncan’s
Multiple Range Test (Duncan, 1955).
RESULTS AND DISSCUSSION
Fresh weight of nodules (g). Data regarding the effect
of phosphorus fertilization and Rhizobium inoculation
on fresh weight of nodules (Table 1) showed that in the
un-inoculated treatments no nodulation was recorded
even those were fertilized with different P levels, where
as the plants which were inoculated with Rizobium
showed the nodulation and it was further enhanced
aggregately by graded P levels. In the inoculated plants,
phosphorus level of 150% of the recommended (P150)
was the most effective in promoting fresh weight of
nodules which was 144.06% higher over its respective
control. Statistically the comparison of inoculated and
un-inoculated plants in respective to nodulation was
highly significant. Overall comparison of means
resulted 86.20 to 148.27% higher fresh weight over
Rizobium inoculation alone. Usman (2002) observed no
nodulation in mungbean crop without inoculation
treatment. Similar results were also reported by
Hoshiyar et al. (1994) and Provorov et al. (1998).in
their experiments.
Oven dry weight of nodules (g). P application @ 150%
of the recommended dose along with Rhizobium
inoculum resulted maximum oven dry weight which
was 183.87% greater than control and minimum
increase in oven dry weight was observed where 50% of
recommended P was applied (table 1). The average
oven dry weight of nodules was 0.58 g plant-1 in case of
inoculated plants. Hoshiyar et al. (1994) also observed
the significant fresh and oven dry weight of nodules in
the green gram crop which support to these findings.
Fresh weight of roots (g). Data regarding the effect of
phosphorus fertilization alone and in combination with
Rhizobium inoculation on the fresh root weight (Table
2) showed that root weight increased with the
application of phosphorus and Rhizobium inoculums
also increased the root weight but the interaction of
graded P levels and Rhizobium inoculums was non-
significant. In the overall means for different P rates,
maximum fresh root weight (2.43g) was noted in the
P150 and it was 73.57% greater than its control P0. The
comparison of average mean of the inoculated plants
resulted that it was 6.1% higher over uninoculated
54
plants average. Chowdhary et al. (2000) and
Bhattacharyya and Pal (2001) also reported that graded
levels of P significantly enhanced the fresh weight of
root.
Oven dry weight of roots (g). It is clear from table 2
that all the graded P rates significantly increased oven
dry root weight. However, the effect of inoculation was
significantly increased oven dry root weight but the
effect of inoculation was significant. An overview at the
averages for inoculated and uninoculated means
revealed that both the averages were statistically at par
and this trend was deviated from its previous related
parameter (Fresh root weight). The comparison of
overall means for graded P levels resulted that
maximum oven dry root weight was noted in P150 which
was 115.78% higher over its respective control P0. But
the similar results in the case of dry matter
accumulation in the shoot of summer green grams,
maximum fresh weight of shoot was obtained in
Rhizobium inoculated treatment combined with P at 40
kg/ha.
Oven dry weight of shoot (g). It was observed that dry
shoot weight increased with the increasing levels of
phosphorus, which further enhanced when these
treatments were applied along with Rhizobium
inoculums (table 3). The trend of increase in oven dry
shoot weight was almost similar as was observed in
fresh shoot weight. Many workers while conducting
experiments on different legumes reported that
phosphorus and Rhizobium inoculation application
increased the dry matter yield of leguminous plant,
which are similar to our findings. Sharma (2001)
recorded a significant increase in straw yield of Vigna
radiate cv. Pusa baisakhi as inoculated with Rhizobium
along with graded P levels. Provorov et al. (1998)
studied a field trial at Uzbekistan, inoculation of mung
been with Rhizobium produced significant straw mass
than the Rhizobium inoculation alone.
Fresh weight of grains (g).The data (Table 4)
regarding the grain weight of mungbean (g plant-1) as
affected by various levels of phosphorus alone and in
combination with Rhizobium were recorded after
harvest and its analysis of variance indicated the
difference in grains weight of mungbean to different
treatments were highly significant. Among the overall
means for different P levels, the maximum grain weight
(3.32 g plant-1) was observed in P100 and it was 100%
higher over its respective control P0 and statistically non
signification with P150. Average fresh weight of grains
in the inoculated plants was 105.23% greater than the
average fresh weight of grains of uninoculated plants.
The interaction between phosphorus levels treatments
and Rhizobium inoculation was also highly significant.
Khan and Kounsar (2000) and Perveen et al. (2002) also
observed the similar type of results in their trails.
 Hussain et al. / Crop & Environment 2010, 1(1): 53-56

Table 1. Effect of phosphorus (P) and Rhizobium (R) inoculation on fresh and oven dry weight of nodules.
P levels Fresh weight of nodules (g) Oven dry weight of nodules (g)

No R R Mean No R R Mean
No P 0.00d 0.59c 0.29C 0.00d 0.31c 0.15B
P 50 0.00d 1.09c 0.54B 0.00d 1.42c 0.20B
(84.74)* (86.20)* (35.48)* (33.3)*
P 100 0.00d 1.32a 0.66A 0.00d 0.72b 1.36A
(123.72) (127.58) (132.25) (140.0)
P 150 0.00d 1.44 a 0.72A 0.00d 0.88a 0.44A
(144.06) (148.27) (183.87) (193.3)
Mean 0.00 B 1.11A 0.00 B 0.58A

Table 2. Effect of phosphorus (P) and Rhizobium (R) inoculation on fresh and oven dry weight of roots.
P levels Fresh weight of roots (g) Oven dry weight of roots (g)
No R R Mean No R R Mean
No P 1.38b 1.42b 1.38b 1.42b 1.38b 1.42b
P 50 1.56b 1.73ab 1.56b 1.73ab 1.56b 1.73ab
(13.04)* (21.83)* (13.04)* (21.83)* (13.04)* (21.83)*
P 100 1.94ab 2.01a 1.94ab 2.01a 1.94ab 2.01a
(40.57) (41.55) (40.57) (41.55) (40.57) (41.55)
P 150 2.36a 2.50a 2.36a 2.50a 2.36a 2.50a
(71.01) (76.50) (71.01) (76.50) (71.01) (76.50)
Mean 1.81B 1.92A 1.81B 1.92A 1.81B 1.92A
(6.1)* (6.1)* (6.1)*

Table 3. Effect of phosphorus (P) and Rhizobium (R) inoculation on fresh and oven dry weight of shoots.
P levels Fresh weight of shoots (g) Oven dry weight of shoots (g)
No R R Mean No R R Mean
No P 5.07h 5.96g 5.07h 5.96g 5.07h 5.96g
P 50 6.25f 8.53e 6.25f 8.53e 6.25f 8.53e
(23.27)* (43.12)* (23.27)* (43.12)* (23.27)* (43.12)*
P 100 9.16d 15.23b 9.16d 15.23b 9.16d 15.23b
(80.67) (155.33) (80.67) (155.33) (80.67) (155.33)
P 150 11.89c 16.32a 11.89c 16.32a 11.89c 16.32a
(134.50) (173.82) (134.50) (173.82) (134.50) (173.82)
Mean 8.09B 11.51A 8.09B 11.51A 8.09B 11.51A
(42.27)* (42.27)* (42.27)*

Table 4. Effect of phosphorus (P) and Rhizobium (R) inoculation on fresh and oven dry weight of grains.
P levels Fresh weight of grains (g) Oven dry weight of grains (g)
No R R Mean No R R Mean
No P 1.39e 1.92c 1.39e 1.92c 1.39e 1.92c
P 50 1.65d 2.84b 1.65d 2.84b 1.65d 2.84b
(47.9)* (47.9)* (47.9)*
P 100 1.93c 4.72a 1.93c 4.72a 1.93c 4.72a
(38.8) (145.8) (38.8) (145.8) (38.8) (145.8)
P 150 1.92c 4.65a 1.92c 4.65a 1.92c 4.65a
(38.1) (142.1) (38.1) (142.1) (38.1) (142.1)
Mean 172.B 3.93A 172.B 3.93A 172.B 3.93A
(105.23)* (105.23)* (105.23)*

Oven dry weight of grains (g). All the phosphorus
fertilized treatments significantly increased the oven dry
weight of grains (table 4). It was observed that grain
weight increased with the increasing levels of P, which
further increased when these treatments were applied
along with Rhizobium inoculums. The trend of increase
in oven dry weight of grain was almost similar as was
observed in fresh weight of grains. The addition of
Rhizobium inoculums to P increased 55-167% oven dry
grain weight over P0. Average oven dry weight of grains
of inoculated plants was 124.65% greater than the
average oven dry grain weight of un inoculated plants.
The interaction between P levels treatments and
Rhizobium inoculums was almost similar as was noted
in fresh weight of grains. Similar results were found by
Ardeshna et al. (1993) and Perveen et al (2002).
CONCLUSION
Phosphorus application along with Rhizobium
inoculation increased the oven dry weight of nodules,

55
 Effects of P and Rhizobium on growth and yield parameters of mungbean / Crop & Environment 2010, 1(1): 53-56
grains, roots and straw significantly. Maximum oven
dry weights were observed where recommended and
150% of the recommended dose of phosphorus along
with Rhizobium inoculation was applied. It is concluded
that mungbean crop should preferably be grown with
@150% of the recommended dose of phosphorus along
with Rhizobium inoculation under agro-ecological
conditions of Faisalabad.
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