Abstract:
Groundnut is an important food crop throughout the tropics. It is mainly grown for the kernels and the edible oil and meal derived from them, and the vegetative residue. The average on farm yield of groundnuts in Uganda is about 800kg/ ha as opposed to the yield potential of 3000kg/ha, this brings a yield gap of 2200kg/ha. This yield gap has been attributed mostly to poor soil fertility due to inadequate availability of essential nutrients in the soils.
This has been attributed to production constraints such as reducing soil fertility, pests and diseases, drought and water logging. Soil infertility is a major constraint in groundnut production, capable of causing low on farm yields among smallholder farmers. The continuous cultivation of the same small piece of land every season with no replenishment has limited the ability of the soils to regenerate resulting in soil biodiversity loss and soil exhaustion. This has created a need to explore new avenues to rebuild the soil health. One of the ways to address these challenges is the use of indigenous microorganisms (IMO) that are effective in rejuvenation of soil health. Therefore, this study was carried out to assess the effects of bio-inoculants, (Jeevamritha and Biodynamic) on growth and yield of Serenut 2 variety of groundnuts. Study consisted of four treatments which include; jeevamritha, biodynamic, jeevamritha+biodynamic and control. The bioinoculant treatments were applied in respective plots. Each treatment was replicated four times in randomized complete block design. The data was collected from branches, leaf area, days to first flowering, days to50% flowering, days to 75% flowering, stem length, nodules, roots, pods, shelling%, 100 grain weight, gynosphere and haulm weight. Results showed that most of the bio-inoculants significantly increased the observed parameters.
Maximum plot yield was recorded in jeevamritha +biodynamic 26.20 kg which was significantly higher than control 20.60kg. Similarly, significantly higher yield was recorded in jeevamritha and biodynamic. Combined application of bio-inoculants gave better results than single inoculation which suggested that bio-inoculants used under the study worked synergistically with each other. Hence, it may be concluded that combination application of jeevamritha+biodynamic can be used to enhance the yield of groundnuts in Uganda.
