Effect of integrated nutrition on productivity, profitability and quality of black gram (Vigna mungo L.) in plateau region of Jharkhand

Introduction

Black gram (Vigna mungo L.) is one of the most important pulse crops of India and plays a vital role in nutritional security, soil health improvement and sustainable agriculture. It is widely cultivated across diverse agro-climatic regions of the country, particularly under rainfed conditions. India is considered the centre of origin of black gram and contributes nearly 70 per cent of global production, making it both the largest producer and consumer of this pulse. During 2020-21, black gram was cultivated over about 4.6 million hectares with an annual production of approximately 24.5 lakh tonnes and an average productivity of 533 kg ha⁻¹. The crop alone accounts for nearly one-fifth of the total pulse area in India and contributes about 23 per cent to national pulse production. In Jharkhand, black gram occupies around 1.32 lakh hectares with a production of 1.15 lakh tonnes and productivity of 872 kg ha⁻¹, indicating its regional importance. Nutritionally, black gram is rich in protein (about 24%), carbohydrates, minerals and essential micronutrients such as calcium, phosphorus and iron. Apart from its food value, the crop improves soil fertility through biological nitrogen fixation and contributes approximately 22 kg ha⁻¹ of atmospheric nitrogen via root nodules. Its dense canopy provides good ground cover, which helps reduce soil erosion. Despite these advantages, black gram productivity remains low, largely because it is cultivated on marginal and submarginal lands characterized by low soil fertility, poor organic matter content and moisture stress. Being an indeterminate crop, it faces continuous competition between vegetative and reproductive sinks, which often limits assimilate translocation to developing pods and ultimately reduces yield potential. The upland soils of Jharkhand are predominantly acidic and inherently deficient in essential nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus and sulphur. Continuous cultivation under rainfed conditions, coupled with imbalanced and excessive reliance on chemical fertilizers, has further aggravated soil degradation and nutrient depletion. Rising fertilizer costs and their adverse effects on soil health, environmental quality and human safety necessitate alternative International Journal of Advanced Biochemistry Research 2026 ; SP-10(4 ): 298-306 nutrient management strategies that are both economically viable and environmentally sustainable. Integrated nutrient management (INM), involving the judicious use of inorganic fertilizers, organic manures and biofertilizers, has emerged as a promising approach to address these challenges. While chemical fertilizers are indispensable for meeting immediate crop nutrient requirements, their continuous and imbalanced use adversely affects soil physical, chemical and biological properties. On the other hand, organic sources alone often fail to supply nutrients in sufficient quantities due to their low nutrient concentration. Hence, combining organic manures with chemical fertilizers and biofertilizers ensures better nutrient availability, enhanced nutrient use efficiency and sustained soil fertility. Biofertilizers, particularly Rhizobium and other plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR), play a crucial role in improving nutrient availability in the rhizosphere, stimulating plant growth and suppressing soil-borne pathogens. Rhizobium inoculation has been reported to fix substantial amounts of nitrogen and enhance growth, yield and biochemical characteristics of black gram. The use of biofertilizers not only reduces dependency on chemical fertilizers but also contributes to soil health maintenance and environmental protection. With increasing concerns over climate change and sustainability, PGPR-based nutrient management strategies are gaining significance as ecofriendly alternatives for enhancing crop productivity. Given the multiple constraints limiting black gram productivity, particularly under the plateau region of Jharkhand, it is essential to develop balanced and regionspecific nutrient management strategies. Therefore, the present study was undertaken to evaluate suitable integrated nutrient management packages involving different fertility levels, farmyard manure and biofertilizer applications for improving growth, yield, quality and nutrient uptake in black gram under rainfed conditions.

Materials and Methods

A field experiment was carried out during two consecutive kharif seasons of 2020-21 and 2021-22 at the Agronomy Research Farm of Birsa Agricultural University, Kanke, Ranchi, Jharkhand, to evaluate suitable integrated nutrient management (INM) packages for black gram production and to study their effects on growth, yield, quality and nutrient uptake of black gram (Vigna mungo L.). The experimental site is located in Agro-climatic Zone VII (Eastern Plateau and Hill Region), sub-zone North-Eastern Plateau Zone of Jharkhand, and experiences a humid subtropical climate. The soil of the experimental field was sandy loam in texture, consisting of 60.8% sand, 27.8% silt and 11.4% clay. It was acidic in reaction (pH 5.89), low in available nitrogen (247.13 kg ha⁻¹) and organic carbon (0.39%), medium in available phosphorus (47.52 kg ha⁻¹), potassium (186.32 kg ha⁻¹) and sulphur (32.12 kg ha⁻¹). The experiment was laid out in a randomized block design with a factorial arrangement and three replications, comprising 24 treatment combinations. The treatments consisted of three factors: four fertility levels [control, 75%, 100% and 125% recommended dose of fertilizers (RDF)], two levels of farmyard manure (no FYM and 5 t FYM ha⁻¹), and three biofertilizer treatments (Rhizobium, LMn16 and dual inoculation of Rhizobium + LMn16). The recommended fertilizer dose of black gram was 20:40:20:20 kg ha⁻¹ of N:P₂O₅:K₂O:S.

Nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium were supplied through urea, diammonium phosphate and muriate of potash, respectively, while sulphur was applied using phosphorgypsum. Farmyard manure containing 0.5% nitrogen, 0.2% phosphorus and 0.5% potassium was incorporated into the soil as per treatment two weeks prior to sowing. To correct soil acidity, lime was uniformly applied at the rate of 0.5 t ha⁻¹ in the sowing furrows at the time of sowing. Black gram variety WBU-109 was used for the study. Seeds were inoculated with biofertilizers (Rhizobium and/or LMn16) at the rate of 400 g per 20 kg seed according to the respective treatments. The crop was sown at a seed rate of 20 kg ha⁻¹ with a spacing of 30 cm × 10 cm. Sowing was done on 10 July during the 2020-21 season and on 6 July during the 2021-22 season, while harvesting was carried out on 23 September 2021 and 22 September 2022, respectively. During the crop growth period, the maximum and minimum temperatures recorded were 34.0 °C and 21.2°C in 2020-21, and 34.3°C and 22.1°C in 2021-22. The total rainfall received during the cropping seasons was 1054.3 mm in 2020-21 and 1551.9 mm in 2021-22. Yield attributes such as number of pods per plant, pod length, number of grains per pod and 1000-grain weight were recorded from five randomly selected plants from each plot at harvest. Grain yield was recorded from the net plot area, sun-dried to approximately 12% moisture content and expressed in kg ha⁻¹. Plant samples (grain and straw) were collected from each plot after harvest and analyzed for nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and sulphur content using standard laboratory procedures. Quality parameters such as protein content and protein yield were also determined. Nutrient uptake was calculated based on nutrient concentration and corresponding dry matter yield. The data obtained were statistically analyzed following standard procedures as described by Gomez and Gomez (1984) [8] .

Results and Discussion

Effect on yield attributes and yields

Data The results presented in Table 1 show that fertility levels, FYM application and biofertilizer inoculation significantly influenced the yield attributes and yield of black gram. Increasing levels of inorganic fertilizers resulted in a consistent improvement in yield attributes. Application of 125% RDF recorded the highest values for pods per plant (25.58), pod length (4.86 cm), grains per pod (7.49) and 1000-seed weight (38.59 g), followed by 100% RDF. Application of FYM at 5 t ha⁻¹ significantly enhanced yield attributes over the control, recording higher pods per plant (21.67), pod length (4.83 cm), grains per pod (7.43) and 1000-seed weight (38.56 g). Similarly, dual seed inoculation with Rhizobium + LMn16 resulted in superior yield attributes compared to sole inoculation, indicating a synergistic effect of the combined biofertilizers. Seed yield increased significantly with higher fertility levels, FYM application and dual biofertilizer inoculation. The highest seed yield (1558 kg ha⁻¹) was obtained with 125% RDF, followed by 100% RDF, registering yield increases of 36% and 12% over 75% RDF, respectively. FYM application at 5 t ha⁻¹ produced a higher seed yield (1276 kg ha⁻¹) compared to no FYM, while dual inoculation with Rhizobium + LMn16 recorded the maximum seed yield (1291 kg ha⁻¹) among biofertilizer treatments. The improvement in yield attributes and yield under integrated nutrient management may be attributed to better nutrient availability, improved soil environment and enhanced microbial activity in the rhizosphere. Combined use of inorganic fertilizers, FYM and biofertilizers likely promoted balanced nutrition, increased biological nitrogen fixation and efficient assimilate translocation, resulting in higher productivity. These findings are in agreement with earlier reports by Kumpawat (2010) [14] , Kumawat et al. (2015a) [12] , Kumar et al. (2015) [13] and Meena et al. (2021) [16] .

Effect on nutrient contents and uptakes

The The data presented in Tables 2 and3 show that fertility levels, FYM application and biofertilizer inoculation significantly influenced nutrient (N, P, K and S) content and uptake in both seed and stover of black gram. Nutrient content increased progressively with higher fertility levels. Application of 125% RDF recorded the highest nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and sulphur content in seed (3.46, 0.43, 0.87 and 0.41%, respectively), followed by 100% RDF, while the lowest values were observed under 75% RDF. Compared to the control, 125% RDF increased seed N, P, K and S content by 4.46, 10.39, 4.56 and 8.16%, respectively. A similar trend was observed in the stover. Application of FYM at 5 t ha⁻¹ significantly enhanced nutrient content in both seed and stover compared to no FYM. Higher contents of N (3.45% and 0.76%), P (0.42% and 0.24%), K (0.86% and 1.13%) and S (0.40% and 0.32%) were recorded in seed and stover, respectively. Among biofertilizer treatments, dual seed inoculation with Rhizobium + LMn16 resulted in the highest N, P, K and S contents in seed and stover, followed by LMn16 and Rhizobium applied individually. These results are consistent with earlier findings by Kumar and Jat (2010) and Yadav et al. (2017) [10,23] . Nutrient uptake by seed and stover increased significantly with increasing fertility levels and showed a strong positive relationship with nutrient availability (Table 3). The highest uptake of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and sulphur by seed (50.18, 6.15, 12.62 and 5.95 kg ha⁻¹, respectively) and stover (29.55, 9.28, 44.10 and 12.70 kg ha⁻¹, respectively) was recorded with 125% RDF, which was statistically comparable with 100% RDF. Application of FYM at 5 t ha⁻¹ significantly enhanced nutrient uptake by both seed and stover over without FYM treatments. Similarly, dual seed inoculation with Rhizobium + LMn16 resulted in the maximum uptake of N, P, K and S, followed by LMn16 alone. The increased nutrient content and uptake under integrated nutrient management practices may be attributed to improved nutrient availability, enhanced soil biological activity and more efficient absorption and translocation of nutrients. The combined application of inorganic fertilizers, FYM and biofertilizers likely improved soil buffering capacity, nutrient chelation and microbial-mediated mineralization, particularly under acidic soils. FYM decomposition produces humic and fulvic acids that enhance nutrient solubility and mobility, while Rhizobium and PGPR improve nitrogen fixation, nutrient acquisition and overall plant growth (Chahal et [5,7,4] . Similar trends have also been reported by Danga et al. (2023) [24] . Quality parameters Quality parameters of black gram, including protein content, protein yield, zinc and iron content, are presented in Table 4. Fertility levels had a significant effect on protein content and protein yield. Application of 125% RDF recorded the highest protein content (21.65%), protein yield (314 kg ha⁻¹), zinc (29 ppm) and iron content (49 ppm), followed by 100% RDF, while the lowest values were observed under 75% RDF. The improvement in protein content and yield under higher fertility levels may be attributed to increased nitrogen availability through mineralization and biological nitrogen fixation, which enhances protein synthesis in seeds (Kumawat et al., 2015) [12] . Application of farmyard manure significantly improved protein content and protein yield (21.54% and 277 kg ha⁻¹, respectively), whereas its effect on zinc and iron content was not significant. Biofertilizer treatments did not significantly influence protein content or micronutrient concentration; however, protein yield was highest under dual seed inoculation with Rhizobium + LMn16, followed by LMn16 alone, while the lowest protein yield was recorded with Rhizobium alone. These findings are in agreement with the results reported by Shekhawat et al. (2017) [21] . The increase in protein content with integrated nutrient management may be explained by the close association between nitrogen availability and protein synthesis. Enhanced nitrogen supply under higher fertilizer levels, along with FYM and biofertilizers, likely improved enzymatic activity involved in amino acid biosynthesis and increased assimilate availability, resulting in improved grain quality. Similar observations have been reported earlier by Selvakumar et al. (2012) [20] .

Nodule count

A Data presented in Table 5 indicate that the number of root nodules per plant at 30 and 45 DAS (days after sowing) increased significantly with higher fertility levels. The highest nodule count was recorded with 125% RDF (24.89 and 38.59), followed by 100% RDF (19.48 and 37.40) and 75% RDF (16.74 and 32.88). Application of FYM at 5 t ha⁻¹ also significantly enhanced nodule formation, recording 19.03 and 37.40 nodules per plant at 30 and 45 DAS, respectively, representing increases of 24.43% and 14.45% over the control. Among the biofertilizer treatments, dual seed inoculation with Rhizobium + LMn16 resulted in the maximum number of nodules per plant (18.04 and 34.65 at 30 and 45 DAS), followed by LMn16 and Rhizobium applied alone. The increased nodulation under higher fertility levels, FYM application and biofertilizer inoculation may be attributed to improved plant vigor, enhanced photosynthetic activity and greater availability of assimilates, which strengthened source sink relationships and supported better nodulation. Enhanced nodulation, in turn, contributed to improved seed, stover and biological yields of black gram. The findings of the present study are in close agreement with earlier reports by Kumawat et al. (2015) [12] .

Effects on economics

Data presented in Table 6 indicate that integrated nutrient management practices significantly influenced the economics of black gram production. Increasing fertility levels resulted in marked improvements in gross return, net return, benefit-cost (B:C) ratio, production efficiency and economic efficiency. Application of 125% RDF recorded the highest gross return (₹95,619 ha⁻¹), net return (₹66,454 ha⁻¹), production efficiency (20.10 kg ha⁻¹ day⁻¹), economic efficiency (₹857 ha⁻¹ day⁻¹) and B:C ratio (2.27), followed by 100% RDF. Application of FYM at 5 t ha⁻¹ significantly enhanced economic returns compared to control, recording gross return of ₹81,888 ha⁻¹, net return of ₹52,640 ha⁻¹, production efficiency of 17.0 kg ha⁻¹ day⁻¹, economic efficiency of ₹679 ha⁻¹ day⁻¹ and a B:C ratio of 1.77. The net return and economic efficiency increased by 24.18% and 20.43%, respectively, over plots without FYM application. Among biofertilizer treatments, seed inoculation with Rhizobium + LMn16 produced the maximum gross return (₹79,321 ha⁻¹), net return (₹51,733 ha⁻¹), B:C ratio (1.84), production efficiency (16.65 kg ha⁻¹ day⁻¹) and economic efficiency (₹667 ha⁻¹ day⁻¹). The superior economic performance under dual inoculation was primarily due to higher seed and stover yields.

Conclusion

Based on the results of the two-year field experiment, it can be concluded that integrated nutrient management involving farmyard manure and biofertilizers in combination with inorganic fertilizers significantly improves growth, yield attributes, yield, nutrient content and nutrient uptake in black gram. Application of a higher fertility level (125% RDF; 25-50-25-25 kg N-P-K-S ha⁻¹) along with FYM at 5 t ha⁻¹ and dual seed inoculation with Rhizobium and PGPR LMn16 proved superior in enhancing productivity, nutrient uptake and economic returns compared to the use of recommended fertilizer dose alone. Therefore, this integrated nutrient management practice can be recommended for achieving higher yield, improved quality and better profitability of black gram under the plateau region of Jharkhand.

Acknowledgement

AcknowledgementThe authors are very grateful to Indian Council of Agricultural Research for financial assistance through All India Co-ordinated Research Project on Mullarp and for providing necessary facilities for undertaking this research work at Birsa Agricultural University, Ranchi, Jharkhand.

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