Azotobacter
- Azotobacter is a common non-symbiotic free living Nâfixing bacteria and supplementing the need of nitrogenous fertilizers in non-legume crops.
- Broadly it also comes under the group of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR).
- Efficient Azotobacter strains are A. vinelandii and A. chroococcumfor crops like wheat, sorghum, maize, cotton, mustard,etc.
- Azotobacteris applied through seed treatment, seedling treatment and soil application.
- Method of application:In seed treatment, 600 g ha-1 of Azotobacter formulation is mixed with water in which the seeds are soaked overnight and then sown in the nursery bed. In seedling treatment, the slurry can be prepared by mixing Azotobacter @ 1000 g ha-1 in 40 L of water and rice seedlings are dipped in the suspension for 15-30 minutes before transplanting.For soil application, 3 L in 1000 kg of field soil has to be applied uniformly in the soil and watered well.