INTEGRATED USE OF PHOSPHATE SOLUBILIZING BACTERIA, BRADYRHIZOBIUM AND P ON GROWTH AND YIELD OF SOYBEAN

A pot experiment was conducted at the net house of the Department of Agricultural Chemistry, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh during the period of December 2014 to May 2015, to investigate the growth and yield of soybean by the integrated use of Phosphate Solubilizing Bacteria (PSB), Bradyrhizobium and P. . The experiment was laid out in Randomized Complete Block Design with nine treatments and four replications. The treatments were T₀ - Control (No fertilizer and inoculants), T₁ - Phosphate Solubilizing bacteria (PSB), T₂ - Bradyrhizobium, T₃ - PSB + Bradyrhizobium, T₄ - 100% recommended phosphorus (RP),  T₅ -  Bradyrhizobium + 100% RP, T₆ -60% RP, T₇ - 60% RP +PSB and T₈ - 60% RP + PSB + Bradyrhizobium. Data were recorded at 20 days after sowing (DAS), 45 DAS, 75 DAS, 95 DAS and at harvesting stage. Significant differences were found among different treatments combination in terms of yield and yield contributing characters. The results showed that application of PSB and Bradyrhizobium increased the plant height, dry matter yield, pods plant^-1, grains pod^-1, total number of grain plant^-1, grain and stover yields of soybean crop. On the other hand, application of 60% RP with PSB and Bradyrhizobium gave significantly higher yield and yield contributing characters. The highest plant height (26.52 cm), dry matter plant^-1 (29.05 g), number of pods plant^-1 (32.00), number of grains pod-1 (3.00), grain yield (9.68 g) and stover yield (19.37 g) were obtained due to the application of PSB and Bradyrhizobium with 60% RP. The results revealed that co-inoculation of Phosphate Solubilizing Bacteria and Bradyrhizobium may reduce the P application in soybean cultivation.