Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1 Associate Professor of Agroecology, College of Agriculture, Shahrekord University, Iran
2 M.Sc. Student of Agroecology, College of Agriculture, Shahrekord University, Iran
Abstract
Drought stress is one of the most important factors that limit plant production in the semi-arid areas. Thus, in order to investigate the effects of Azotobacter bacteria, mycorrhiza fungus and zinc sulfate on the growth and yield of fenugreek, a field experiment was conducted at the Agricultural Research Farm of Shahrekord University during the growing season of 2011-2012. Two levels of irrigation (including complete irrigation as no stress and deficit irrigation at early flowering for 12 days as drought stress) were combined as main plots factor and seven fertilizer treatments consisted of control (NPK), zinc sulfate, Azetobacter, mycorrhizae, zinc sulfate + Azetobacter, zinc sulfate + mycorrhizae, zinc sulfate + mycorrhizae + Azetobacter as subplot factor in a split-plot experiment design with three replications. The results showed that under complete irrigation conditions, the highest leaf area index was recorded in zinc sulfate and mycorrhizae treated plant. Also, the greatest of pods/plant, seeds/pod, and 1000 seed weights were associated in zinc sulfate + Azetobacter, zinc sulfate, and zinc sulfate + mycorrhizae treatments, respectively. The highest grain yield (2245 kg/ha) was observed in zinc sulfate + mycorrhizae treatment (P≤0.05) under complete irrigation conditions. But, there were no significant differences among fertilizer treatments under drought stress conditions. In conclusion, under complete irrigation it is important the combined application of chemical fertilizer and under drought stress conditions, as well as mycorrhizae for improving in grain yield of fenugreek and sustaining optimum crop production.
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