Effect of liquid fertilizers and time of application on growth of soybean (Glycine max L.)

Introduction

Soybean (Glycine max L. Merrill) is an important pulse as well as oilseed crop and is often referred to as the "Golden Bean" of the 21st century. It is believed to have originated in China around 2838 B.C. Soybean belongs to the family Leguminosae and sub-family Papilionaceae (Kolpe and Bodake, 2017) [10] . In India, it is cultivated extensively because of its wide adaptability to tropical and subtropical climatic conditions. A temperature range of 25-30°C, annual rainfall of 700-1000 mm and well-drained loamy soils with a pH of 6.0-7.5 are considered favourable for soybean cultivation. The availability of suitable soil and climatic conditions has contributed to its widespread cultivation in different regions of the country. Soybean is one of the most important oil-bearing leguminous crops in the world. Its productivity potential is relatively high compared with many other legumes. It is a rich source of high-quality protein and therefore has considerable importance in addressing protein-calorie malnutrition. Soybean seeds contain approximately 20 per cent oil and 40-42 per cent high-quality protein, compared with about 20-25 per cent protein in other legumes (Agrawal et al., 2013) [1] . Soybean oil is widely used as salad oil, vegetable shortening and margarine. It also has several industrial applications, including the manufacture of soaps, paints, resins and drying oils. In addition, soybean seeds are used to prepare various protein-rich products such as soy milk, soy cheese (paneer), soy sauce and soy flour (Thakur and Dhiman, 2016) [13] . Along with the recommended soil application of NPK fertilizers, micronutrients can be effectively supplied through foliar application at suitable time stages of the soybean crop. Balanced nutrient management improves the efficiency of applied nutrients and contributes to better plant growth and development. Although micronutrients are required in small quantities, they play essential roles in various metabolic and physiological processes in soybean plants. Deficiency of these nutrients can result in visible deficiency symptoms and reduced crop productivity. Therefore, foliar application of micronutrients along with balanced fertilization and proper timing can play an important role in improving soybean growth and yield. In recent years, foliar application of nutrients has gained importance as an effective approach for correcting plant nutritional deficiencies. It offers several advantages over conventional soil application and can improve nutrient-use efficiency (Alam et al., 2010). Foliar fertilization involves applying fertilizers directly to the leaves of actively growing plants at appropriate concentrations. In many situations, foliar feeding is preferred because nutrients applied to the foliage can be absorbed relatively quickly and may produce a faster crop response than conventional soil application (Jamal et al., 2006; Baloch et al., 2008) [9,3] .

Materials and Methods

A field trial was conducted at the College of Agriculture, Nagpur, during the year 2025-26 kharif season to study effect of liquid fertilizers and time of application on growth and yield of soybean (Glycine max L.). The soil of the experimental site was clayey in texture, slightly alkaline in reaction (pH -7.6) [Glass electrode digital pH meter (Jackson, 1967)] [8] , low in available Nitrogen (225.80 kg ha -1 ) [ Alkaline permanganate method (Subbiah and Asija, 1956)] [12] , medium in available phosphorus (22.13 kg ha - 1 ) [Olsen's colourimetric method (Olsen et al., 1954)] [11] and high in available potassium (349.20 kg ha -1 ) [Flame photometer method (Jackson, 1967)] [8] . The experiment was laid out in factorial randomized block design with four liquid fertilizers and three times of application and replicated three times. The treatments consisted of four liquid fertilizers viz., L 1 -Foliar application of 1% 19:19:19, L 2 -Foliar application of 1% 19:19:19 + PDKV Grade-2, L 3 -Foliar application of 1% 13:00:45, L 4 -Foliar application of 1% 13:00:45 + PDKV Grade-2 and three times of application viz., T 1 -Branching, T 2 -Pod development and T 3 -Branching + Pod development. Soybean variety (PDKV Amba) was sown at spacing of 45 x 5 cm with full dose of phosphorus, nitrogen was applied as basal and application of liquid fertilizers according to treatments. Data pertaining to growth and yield attributes were recorded from randomly selected five plants from each net plot and the mean value was calculated. Cost of cultivation was worked out with help of prevailing market prices of soybean. The data was statistically analyzed with standard method outlined for randomized block design (Gomez and Gomez, 1984) [7] . Statistically significance was tested by Fvalue at 5% level of probability and critical difference was worked out wherever the effect was significant. [6] , Varma et al., (2024) [14] evaluated foliar nutrition for improving the growth of soybean under rainfed conditions at ITM University, Gwalior. [4] and Varma et al., (2024) [14] . Number of nodules plant -1 was found to be significant at 40 DAS and 60 DAS and gives higher values for foliar application of 1% 13:00:45 + PDKV Grade-2 (L 4 ). Foliar application of liquid fertilizer 13:0:45 + PDKV Grade-2 @ 1% (L 4 ) resulted in significantly higher dry matter accumulation plant -1 (14.50 g, 25.60 g, 28.83 g) than other liquid fertilizer at 60 DAS, 90 DAS and at harvest, respectively. However, it was found at par with foliar application of liquid fertilizer 19:19:19 + PDKV Grade-2 @ 1% (L 2 ) at 90 DAS and at harvest. these results conform with the findings of Anchal Dass et al., (2022) [5] , Deshmukh et al., (2023) [6] and Warpe et al., (2022) [15] .

Effect of time of application

The plant height was significantly influenced by application of liquid fertilizer at different time and found to be significant at 60, 90 DAS and at harvest, while the effect was found non-significant at 30 DAS. The maximum and significantly superior plant height was recorded with Application liquid fertilizer at branching and pod development stages (T 3 ) recorded significantly superior plant height (51.03 cm, 58.03 cm, and 60.72 cm) than other time at 60 DAS, 90 DAS and at harvest, respectively but was found at par with application at branching stage (T 1 ) at 60 DAS and at harvest. these results conform with the findings of Deshmukh et al., (2023) [6] and Warpe et al., (2022) [15] . The number of branches plant -1 was significantly influenced by application of liquid fertilizer at different time and found to be significant at 60, 90 DAS and at harvest, while the effect was found non-significant at 30 DAS. Significantly maximum number of branches plant -1 was found with the application of liquid fertilizer at branching and pod development (T 3 ) (4.77, 6.38 and 6.38) at 60 DAS, 90 DAS and at harvest over remaining treatments. these results conform with the findings of Deshmukh et al., (2023) [6] and Anonymous (2021) [2] . The number of nodules plant -1 was significantly influenced by application of liquid fertilizer at different time and found to be significant at 40 and 60 DAS, while the effect was found nonsignificant at 20 DAS. Significantly maximum number of nodules plant -1 was found with the application of liquid fertilizer at branching and pod development (T 3 ) (18.08 and 24.98) at 40 DAS and 60 DAS. However, it was found at par with application of liquid fertilizer at branching stage (T 1 ). These results conform with the findings of Deshmukh et al., (2023) [6] and Bodke et al., (2022) [4] . Dry matter was significantly influenced by application of liquid fertilizer at different time and found to be significant at 60, 90 DAS and at harvest, while the effect was found non-significant at 30 DAS. The maximum and significantly superior dry matter accumulation was recorded with Application liquid fertilizer at branching and pod development stages (T 3 ) recorded significantly superior dry matter accumulation (14.36 g, 25.69 g and 28.67 g) than other growth stages at 60 DAS, 90 DAS and at harvest, respectively. However, it was found at par with fertilizer application at branching stage (T 1 ) at 60 DAS, 90 DAS and at harvest. These results conform with the findings of Deshmukh et al., (2023) [6] .

Interaction effect

Growth attributes were not significantly influenced by the interaction effect of liquid fertilizers and time of application of soybean. (Table 2 and3).

Conclusion

Based on the experimental results of the present investigation, it can be concluded that. The foliar application of 1% 13:00:45 + PDKV Grade-2 is found best in respect growth attributes viz. plant height (cm), number of branches plant -1 , number of nodules plant - 1 and dry matter accumulation plant -1 as compare to other treatments. However, the application of liquid fertilizers at branching + pod development are found to best in respect growth attributes viz. plant height (cm), number of branches plant -1 , number of nodules plant -1 and dry matter accumulation plant -1 as compare to other treatments.

Acknowledgement

AcknowledgementI express my sincere gratitude to Dr. S. M. Nawlakhe, Assistant professor, Agronomy section, College of Agriculture, Nagpur, Maharashtra, India. For his continuous guidance, encouragement, and support throughout this research, which were instrumental in the successful completion of this work.

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