A comparative study of the efficacy of Biofertilizer and chemical fertilizer on

Rice

A comparative study of the efficacy of Biofertilizer and chemical fertilizer on

Rice

Neethu KannanII yr BotanyDept. of BotanyMercy College, Palakkad

Why Biofertilizers?Why Biofertilizers?

Chemical fertilizers run into the following disadvantages

Not environmentally viable as the fertilizers are produced from non-renewable raw material. Efficiency lesser than other alternative – nearly 60% lesser. The issues of pollution is overwhelming. Cost of chemical fertilizers are high. Chemical fertilizers most effective with irrigated land but not dry lands. Indiscriminate use of chemical fertilizers deteriotes soil health.

Objectives of the studyObjectives of the study

To compare efficiency of Azotobacter sp based biofertilizers with chemical fertilizer.

To study the biomass increase with respect to Morphological, Physiological and Anatomical variations.

Biofertilizers Vs Chemical Fertilizers

Biofertilizers Vs Chemical Fertilizers

Increased productivity

Date

11-12-07

Without adding any fertilizer (reference)

By adding

chemical fertilizer

By adding

biofertilizers

length width length width length width 15cm 3.3mm 22cm 3.9mm 26cm 6mm

19-12-07 20cm 3.8mm 32.5cm 4mm 34cm 7mm02-01-08 22cm 4.0mm 36cm 4.5mm 42cm 8.5mm09-01-08 30cm 4.1mm 37cm 5mm 45cm 10mm

1-01-08 7 35cm 4.2mm 39cm 7mm 48cm 12mm

Tabulation of Experimental results

0

10

20

30

40

50

Leng

th in

cm

11/12/2007 19-12-07 2/1/2008 9/1/2008 17-01-08

Date

Comparison of Length of the plant

Reference

By addingChemicalfertilizerBy addingBiofertilizer

0

20

40

6080

100

120

140 By addingbiofertilizer

By addingchemicalfertilizerReference

Comparison of Plant length

Width in mm

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

Wid

th in

Mill

imet

er

11/12/2007 19-12-07 2/1/2008 9/1/2008 17-01-08

Date

Comparison of Width of the plant

Reference

By addingChemicalfertilizerBy addingBiofertilizer

0

5

10

15

20

25

11/1

2/20

07

19-1

2-07

2/1/

2008

9/1/

2008

17-0

1-08

Date

Wid

th in

mill

ime

tre

By addingbiofertilizer

By addingchemicalfertilizer

Reference

Comparison of the Plant leaf width

Comparison of weight of grains

0

0.05

0.1

0.15

0.2

0.25

0.3

0.35

1

Pots

Weight in grams

Reference

By adding Chemical

fertilizer

By adding Biofertilizer

0

0.05

0.1

0.15

0.2

0.25

0.3

0.35

Reference By adding Chemical fertilizer By adding Biofertilizer

Pots

Weight of Grains in grams

Comparison of productivity

Anatomical differences

Conclusion

• Significant increase in biomass production and grain productivity.

• Relatively more effective than chemical fertilizers.

• Hence can be concluded with further study that biofertilizer is a better alternative to chemical fertilizers. Supportive literature also confirms its environmental safeness (effective decomposition).