Journal of Advances in Biology & Biotechnology

Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merrill] is an important pulse as well as oilseed crop. It is believed to be originated in China around 2838 B.C. It belongs to family leguminoceae and subfamily papilionaceae. A field experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of bio-NPK along with zinc on soil properties under soybean grown soil in kharif 2023 at Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Dhule. The field experiment consisted of eight treatments viz., T₁ (Absolute control), T₂ [GRDF (50:75:45 N: P₂O₅: K₂O kg ha^-1  + 10 t FYM  ha^-1)], T₃ (GRDF 100% + ZnSO₄ @ 20 kg ha^-1 and 4 ml bio-NPK consortia), T₄ (GRDF 100% + ZnSO₄ @ 20 kg ha^-1 and 6 ml bio-NPK consortia), T₅ (GRDF 100% + ZnSO₄ @ 20 kg ha^-1and 8 ml bio-NPK consortia), T₆ (GRDF 75% + ZnSO₄ @ 20 kg ha^-1and 4 ml bio-NPK consortia), T₇ (GRDF 75% + ZnSO₄ @ 20 kg ha^-1and 6 ml bio-NPK consortia), T₈ (GRDF 75% + ZnSO₄ @ 20 kg ha^-1 and 8 ml bio-NPK consortia) were replicated thrice under randomized block design. Application of bio-NPK consortia and zinc showed significant effect on available N, P, K, DTPA-Zn and microbial count in soil after harvest of soybean. Significantly maximum available N, P, K,  DTPA-Zn (175.05, 17.45, 362.13 kg ha^-1 and 0.67 mg kg^-1, respectively), bacterial count Rhizobium, PSB and KMB in soil (14.49, 22.33 and 20.60  10⁵ cfu g^-1 soil, respectively) were noticed in treatment receiving GRDF 100% + ZnSO₄ @ 20 kg ha^-1and 8 ml bio-NPK consortia (T₅), which was followed by application of GRDF 100% + ZnSO₄ @ 20 kg ha^-1 and 6 ml bio-NPK consortia (T₄).