Effect of Biofertilizers on Soil Quality Parameters in Gerbera (Gerbera jamesonii bolus) Cultivation

A field experiment was carried out at the Experimental Farm, Department of Horticulture, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat, during the periods of 2015-2016 and 2016-2017. The experiment was set in Randomized Block Design (RBD) consisting of three replications and eight treatments. The Treatments comprised of T0 (Control), T1 {Bacillus subtilis (4% solution)}, T2 {Microbacterium laevaniformans (4% solution)}, T3 NPK (@15:10:20 g m-2), T4 Vermicompost (5 kg per plot), T5 (½ NPK + ½ Vermicompost + Bacillus subtilis), T6 (½ NPK + ½ Vermicompost + Microbacterium laevaniformans), T7 (½ NPK + ½ Vermicompost + Consortium) and T8 (Consortium). The results revealed that the soil parameters were significantly influenced by the treatments. Studies revealed that soil pH (5.26), Organic Carbon (0.86%), N (276.9 kg ha-1), K (135.1kg ha-1), Microbial Biomass Carbon (379.23µg g-1soil 24 hour-1) were found highest in T4. For P (44.6 kg ha-1) and Electrical Conductivity (0.19 dS/m) was recorded highest in treatment T7.