Effect of vesicular arbuscular mycorrhiza and integratednutrient management on yield of sorghumin vertisols

Introduction

Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.), locally known as jowar is an annual short day C4 plant that belongs to family Gramineae and genus sorghum and widely grown especially in tropical and sub-tropical regions of India. As sorghum is generally cultivated in nutrient poor soils in frequently drought prone areas. It offers food and fodder security through risk aversion on sustainable basis. Sorghum plant has a well-developed deep root system. In India, sorghum is a significant cereal crop. It ranks fifth among the major cereal crops in the world, after rice, wheat, maize, and barley. In India, sorghum occupies the third position among food grains, after rice and wheat. It is one of the most important and nutritious millet crops and serves as a staple food for rural poor people. It ranks third in area and production after rice and wheat. Sorghum is cultivated on about 10.5 million hectares, producing 7.89 million tonnes, with an average productivity of 850 kg ha⁻¹ (Mangal Rai, 2002) [1] . Vesicular arbuscular mycorrhiza (VAM) is a fungal obligate symbiont to many crops (Tylka et al., 1991) [2] which shows mutualistic symbiosis with roots in a variety of plant species. The beneficial effects of VAM on plant growth are mainly due to increased nutrient uptake, especially phosphorus, by enhancing the root surface area for absorption. Integrated Nutrient Management (INM) involves the proper use and management of all major sources of plant nutrients in an efficient and careful manner. It includes the use of chemical fertilizers along with organic sources such as animal manures, compost, and green manures. INM helps in sustaining agricultural production by improving soil health and reducing the gap between nutrient removal by crops and nutrient supply. It also reduces the dependence on chemical fertilizers. The combined use of chemical fertilizers and organic manures increases nutrient use efficiency and helps in maintaining higher crop productivity. Therefore, the INM system is an effective approach for achieving sustainable crop yields and improving soil health in different cropping systems (Kaushal, 2002) [3] . In view of above, the present study was undertaken to study the effect of mycorrhizal inoculation and iintegrated nutrient management on yield of sorghum

Materials and methods

The field experiment was conducted during kharif 2025-26 at the Research farm of Department of Soil Science, Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidhyapeeth, Akola, Maharashtra, India. Geographically, the region is located at 20°42' 01.13'' North and 77°03' 47.93'' East, at an elevation of 307.8 meters above mean sea level (MSL). It has a semi-arid climate with three well-defined seasons. There are a hot, dry summer from March to May, a warm, rainy monsoon from June to October, and a mild, cold winter from November to February. The average annual precipitation is 711.1 mm. The soil of the experimental site was deep, clayey black soil taxonomically classified as very fine, smectitic, calcareous, hyperthermic family of Typic Haplusterts. The experiment comprised eight nutrient management treatments, viz., Absolute control (T 1 ), 100% RDF (T 2 ), 100% RDF + VAM @ 5 kg ha -1 (T 3 ), 75% RDF + VAM @ 5 kg ha -1 (T 4 ), 75% RDF + FYM @ 5 t ha -1 along with VAM @ 5 kg ha -1 (T 5 ), 75% RDF + FYM @ 5 t ha -1 (T 6 ), 75% RDF + Vermicompost @ 2.5 t ha -1 along with VAM @ 5 kg ha -1 (T 7 ), and 75% RDF + Vermicompost @ 2.5 t ha -1 (T 8 ). The treatments were replicated thrice in a Randomized Block Design (RBD). Sorghum variety was CSH-9 and recommended dose of fertilizer (RDF) for sorghum was 80:40:40 kg N, P 2 O 5 , and K 2 O per hectare. Half dose of N and total amount of P and K was applied at the time sowing. The remaining half quantity of N was applied after 30 DAS as top dressing. The recorded data on yield was statistically analysed using analysis of variance (ANOVA) for a Randomized Block Design, as described by Gomez et al. (1984) [4] . Treatment means were compared using the critical difference (CD) at the 5 percent level of significance.

Result and Discussion

The results pertaining to the grain of sorghum as influenced by VAM and INM are presented in figure 1. The vesicular arbuscular mycorrhiza and integrated nutrient management practices significantly (p < 0.05) impacted the grain and straw yield of sorghum. The grain yield of sorghum was significantly influenced due to Vesicular arbuscular mycorrhiza (VAM) and Integrated Nutrient Management. The significantly highest grain yield (33.15 q ha -1

) was recorded in application of 75% RDF + vermicompost @ 2.5 t ha -1 along with VAM @ 5 kg ha -1 (T 7 ). This treatment was statistically comparable with the treatment 75% RDF + vermicompost @ 2.5 t ha -1 (T 8 ) and 75% RDF + FYM @ 5 t ha -1 along with VAM @ 5 kg ha -1 (T 6 ). The treatments T 7 , T 8 and T 6 produced 67.59, 60.36% and 47.27 % higher grain yield over 100 % RDF through chemical fertilizers (T 2 ). This results clearly suggested that integration of VAM and vermicompost / FYM along with 25 % reduced dose of fertilizers found superior over the balanced application of nutrient i.e. 100 % RDF through mineral fertilizers. The fodder yield of sorghum was also significantly affected due to the various treatments (Fig. 2). The integrated application of 75 % RDF + vermicompost @ 2.5 t ha -1 + VAM (T 7 ) produced significantly highest fodder yield (78.95 q ha -1

) followed by 75% RDF + vermicompost @ 2.5 t ha -1 (76.97 q ha -1 ) and 75% RDF + FYM @ 5 t ha -1 along with VAM @ 5 kg ha -1 (68.46 q ha -1 ) which were statistically at par with each other. The relative increase in fodder yields due to these treatments i.e. T 7 , T 8 and T 6 was 67.09, 62.90 and 47.65 % higher compared to 100 % RDF. Overall, the INM treatments (T 5 to T 8 ) were statistically superior over control and RDF also emphasizing the beneficial effect of organic sources and VAM. This increase was might be due to organic sources releases macro and micronutrients gradually and slowly the crop throughout the growth period besides stimulating microbial activities (Adediran et al., 2005) [5] . The increase in sorghum yield in INM treatments was due to more absorption of nutrients by extra rhizosphere mycelium and supply to plants. Besides, organic manure (vermicompost and FYM) combined with chemical fertilizer directly added nutrients to the soil, improved microbial activity and soil physical conditions (Ingle et al. 2011). This results clearly suggested that sustainability in productivity of sorghum could be maintained with integration of chemical fertilizers and organic manures (vermicompost and FYM) along with mycorrhizae. The superiority of 25 % reduced dose of RDF along with organics over chemical fertilizers only alone was also reported by Sonune et al. (2025) [6] . Similar enhancement was also reported by Chaudhary et al. (2024) [7] in cowpea and Shegokar et al. (2024) [8] in sorghum. On the contrast, the lowest grain and fodder yield (8.21 & 19. 48q ha -1 ) was noted in absolute control clearly indicating without supply of any nutrient, crop yield could not sustain.

Conclusion

Hence, it can be concluded that the integrated application of VAM along with 75% RDF + Vermicompost @ 2.5 t ha -1 or FYM @ 5 t ha -1 found superior for enhancing the yield of sorghum in Vertisols.

References

1. Mangala Rai. Amazing nutrient composition. The Hindu Survey of Indian Agriculture. 2002:59-62.
2. Tylka GL, Hussey RS, Roncadori RW. Interactions of VesicularArbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi, Phosphorous, and Heterodera glycines on Soybean. Journal of Nematology. 1991;23(I):122133.
3. Gomez KA, Gomez AA. Statistical procedures for agricultural research. John wiley & sons. 1984.
4. Adediran JA, Talwo LB, Akane MO, Sobulo RA, Idowu OJ. Application of organic and inorganic fertilizer for sustainable maize and cowpea yields in Nigeria. Journal of Plant Nutrition. 2005;27(1):1163-1181.
5. Sonune B, Jadhao S, Kharche V, Mali D, Kadu P, Katkar R, Konde N, Nalge D, Mohod P. Resource Conservation Practices for Sustainable Crop Productivity and Soil Quality in ShrinkSwell Soils of Central India. Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis. 2025;56(17):2531-2548.
6. Choudhary S, Kumawat A, Rakesh S, Choudhary G, Meena PK. Effect of fertility levels and biofertilizers on growth and yield of cowpea. Research Journal of Agricultural Sciences. 2024;15(4):966-970.
7. Shegokar GH, Sonune BA, Pandao MR, Navghare NR, Jadhao SD, Bhoyar SM, Ingle YV. Effect of Integrated Nutrient Management with VAM on Nutrient Uptake and Yield of Sorghum. International Journal of Plant & Soil Science. 2024;36(11):420-425.
8. Ingle SS, Jadhao SD, Kharche VK, Sonune BA, Mali DV. Soil biological properties as influenced by long-term manuring and fertilization under sorghum (Sorghum bicolor)-wheat (Triticum aestivum) sequence in Vertisols. Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences. 2014;84(4):452-457.
9. How to cite this article: Rapatwar P, Sonune B, Jadhao S, Bhoyar S, Takawale D, Pratiksha A. Effect of vesicular arbuscular mycorrhiza and integrated nutrient management on yield of sorghum in vertisols. International Journal of Research in Agronomy. 2026;9(9):680-682. doi: https://www.doi.org/10.3354
10. Authors DS Takawale M.Sc. (Agri.) Student, Department of Soil Science, Post Graduate Institute, Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth, Akola, Maharashtra, India. AC Pratiksha M.Sc. (Agri.) Student, Department of Soil Science, Post Graduate Institute, Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth, Akola, Maharashtra, India. International Journal of Research in Agronomy https://www.agronomyjournals.com 26180618, 2026, 9(9), Downloaded from https://www.doi.org/10.33545/2618060X.2026.v9.i9j.6586 by International Journal of Research in Agronomy on [19/09/2026]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://www.agronomyjournals.com) for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License