The effect of biological and organic fertilizers on the quantitative and qualitative production of mung bean under water stress

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

• poorya Sadeghi Kochsafhani ¹
• Seyed Amirabbas Mousavi Mirkalaeia ²
• Morteza Moballeghi ³
• Morteza Samdeliri ⁴
• Maryam Akbarpour ⁵

¹ PhD student, Department of Agriculture, Faculty of Agriculture, Chalous Islamic Azad University, Chalous, Iran.

² Department of Agronomy, Chalous Branch, Islamic Azad University, Chalous, Iran‏.

³ Assistant Professor, Department of Agriculture, Faculty of Agriculture, Chalous Islamic Azad University, Chalous, Iran

⁴ Associate Professor, Department of Agriculture, Chalous Branch, Islamic Azad University, Chalous, Iran

⁵ Assistant Professor, Department of Agriculture, Chalous Branch, Islamic Azad University, Chalous, Iran

Abstract

Keywords

• Protein
• Drought stress
• Mung bean production
• Legumes
• Mycorrhiza

Main Subjects

• ..

EXTENDED ABSTRACT

Introduction

Mung bean is one of the valuable crops in the sustainable agricultural system in tropical, temperate and dry regions. One of the major problems in agricultural productivity in the world is drought stress, which negatively affect the physiological traits of the crops. The long term application of chemical fertilizers can lead to the destruction of the physical and chemical characteristics of the soil. On the other hand, indiscriminate consumption without considering the soil test and the type of plant, to achieve maximum yield in the long term, causes problems such as increasing environmental pollution, input energy and reducing the yield. Today, policy makers and researchers are considering the use of organic fertilizers as alternative sources of chemical fertilizers to improve soil fertility and crop yield to achieve  sustainable agriculture. They are good sources of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, which improve soil fertility and increase the growth and performance of plants. In general, one of the main pillars in sustainable agriculture is the use of more organic inputs, including biological and organic fertilizers, in agricultural ecosystems to eliminate or significantly reduce the  chemical inputs consumption and reduce the effects of water stress. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the effects of organic fertilizer and biofertilizer under water stress conditions and determine the traits affecting yield on mung bean plant.

Materials and Methods

This research was conducted in two crop years of 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 in the climatic conditions of Chalus city, Iran. The study was conducted as split-factorial experiment based on randomized complete block design with 3 replications. The main factor included no irrigation at three levels (100, 80 and 60% of water requirement). Furthermore, the secondary factors included biological fertilizer (control, mycorrhizal fungus and Enterobacter) and organic fertilizer (no use and 16 and 24 t/ha) in a factorial manner. Mycorrhizal fungi species used in this experiment were obtained from Tehran Water and Soil Institute, Iran. Seeds were inoculated with mycorrhizal medium before sowing and under shade conditions. Field preparation operations, including ploughing, disking and leveling, were carried out before planting at the end of June using a chisel plow.

Results and Discussion

The mean comparison results showed that the highest seed yield was observed in the second year and under irrigation conditions of 100% plant water requirement and application of 24 t/h of organic fertilizer and mycorrhiza at the rate of 126.1 g/m². Subsequently irrigation of 80% of the plant's water requirement and application of 24 t/h of organic fertilizer and enterobacter in the second year achieved the highest amount of 124.3 g/m². In general, the 60% water reqirement reduced grain yield compared to other water requirements. Whereas, the lowest percentage of seed protein was obtained in irrigation with 60% of water requirement and mycorrhiza, with noorganic fertilization in the first year at the rate of 10.44%.

Conclusion

According to the results of this study, the organic and biological fertilization in drought stress conditions can significantly improve the quantitative and qualitative yield of mung bean. Organic fertilizer increases the absorption of water and nutrients by the plant, which increases yield. Biofertilizer also improved quantitative and qualitative performance by affecting the absorption of elements. Overall, it can be concluded that organic and biological fertilizers application in mung bean cultivation can significantly improve this crop’s production under drought stress conditions.

Author Contributions

Methodology, software, formal analysis, writing—original draft preparation, P.S.K; conceptualization, visualization, investigation, validation, resources, data curation, supervision, S.A.M.M.; writing—review and editing, M.M.; writing—review and editing, M.S; writing—review and editing, M.A.

All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. All authors contributed equally to the conceptualization of the article and writing of the original and subsequent drafts.

Data Availability Statement

“Not applicable”

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank all participants of the present study.

Ethical considerations

The authors avoided data fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, and misconduct.