Effect of Microbial Consortiums on Germination and Initial Growth Attributes of Mangosteen

An experiment was conducted to study the influence of microbial consortiums / biofertilizers on germination and initial growth attributes of mangosteen grown in the College Orchard, Department of Fruit Science, College of Agriculture, Kerala Agricutural University, Vellanikkara, Thrissur, Kerala, India during 2023. The research work was conducted under rain shelter with five treatments, which include microbial consortiums / biofertilizers such as PGPR MIX-1 (T1), Piriformospora indica (T2), PGPR MIX-1 + Piriformospora indica (T3), Arka Microbial Consortia (AMC) (T4) and control (T5). The various parameters of germination and initial growth attributes of mangosteen seedlings were recorded viz., time taken for germination, germination percentage, height of seedlings, girth of seedlings, number of leaves, length of leaves, breadth of leaves, length of roots, girth of roots, chlorophyll content, carotenoid content, seedling fresh weight and dry weight. Among the treatments, PGPR MIX-1 + Piriformospora indica (T3) recorded significantly higher values for majority of the parameters under study over control (T5), and Piriformospora indica (T2), but it (T3) was found to be on par with Arka Microbial Consortia (AMC) (T4) and PGPR MIX-1 (T1). The recorded values were lowest under control (T5). The seeds of mangosteen treated with PGPR MIX-1 + Piriformospora indica or Arka Microbial Consortia alone or PGPR MIX-1 alone @ 100 g per kg of seeds were found to be the best in overall performance of the seedlings for various growth parameters under study.