Effect of rhizobium inoculation and chemical fertilizer on growth and yield of lentil genotypes in ganges tidal floodplain soil
Keywords:
Disease incidence, Lens culinaris L., growth, profitability, yield contributing characters.Abstract
A field experiment was conducted in Rahmatpur, Barishal, within the Ganges Tidal Floodplain, to evaluate the effect of Rhizobium inoculant and chemical fertilizer on lentil (Lens culinaris L.) growth and yield. The study employed a split-plot design with three replications, investigating three lentil genotypes: BARI Masur-1, BARI Masur-7 and BD-3818, and five fertilizer treatments: Control, Rhizobium inoculum, recommended dose of inorganic 20-15-25-10-2-1.5 kg ha-1 NPKSZnB, recommended dose of inorganic 20-15-25-10-2-1.5 kg ha-1 NPKSZnB + Rhizobium inoculum and 50% 10-7.5-12.5-5-1-0.75 kg ha-1 NPKSZnB + Rhizobium inoculum. Results indicated that the growing year did not significantly influence lentil growth and yield. BARI Masur-7 consistently outperformed the other genotypes, demonstrating superior performance across various growth and yield parameters including plant population, plant height, days to flowering and maturity, primary branches, fresh and dry weight of leaves and roots, number of pods per plant, number of seeds per pod, thousand-seed weight, seed yield, stover yield, biological yield, and harvest index. Furthermore, BARI Masur-7 exhibited a lower incidence of foot rot and Stemphylium blight. The most effective treatment combination for BARI Masur-7 was found to be 50% of the recommended chemical fertilizer N10P7.5K12.5S5Zn1B0.75 kg ha-1 combined with Rhizobium inoculum (30g/kg seed). This combined approach resulted in the highest seed yield (1636 kg ha-1), highest harvest index (46.9%), and a favorable benefit-cost ratio (3.84). Additionally, this treatment significantly reduced the incidence of Foot rot (1.16%) and Stemphylium blight (0.33 on a 0-5 scale) compared to other treatments. These findings highlight a promising and sustainable approach for enhanced lentil production in the Ganges Tidal Floodplain soil.
Bangladesh J. Agril. Res. 50(4): 331-351, December 2025
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