Effect of Phosphorus Levels and Trichoderma longibrachiatum on Yield Performance and Quality of Soybean (Glycine max L.)

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted during the kharif season of 2025 at the Crop Research Centre, ITM University, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India, to evaluate the effects of phosphorus levels and methods of Trichoderma longibrachiatum application on soybean yield attributes, yield and seed quality. The experiment was laid out in a randomised block design with 12 treatment combinations and three replications. Factor A comprised three phosphorus levels: 50, 70 and 90 kg P2O5 ha-1, while Factor B comprised four Trichoderma longibrachiatum treatments: control, seed treatment at 10 g kg-1 seed, soil treatment at 1 kg ha-1, and seed treatment at 10 g kg-1 seed combined with soil treatment at 1 kg ha-1. The soil was sandy loam in texture. Among phosphorus levels, 90 kg P2O5 ha-1 recorded the highest values for pods plant-1 (26.33), grains pod-1 (3.80), pod length (4.94 cm), 100-grain weight (11.07 g), seed yield (2142 kg ha-1), straw yield (3201 kg ha-1), biological yield (5343 kg ha-1), protein content (41.4%) and oil content (21.7%). Among the bioinoculant treatments, combined seed and soil application of Trichoderma longibrachiatum recorded the highest pods plant-1 (27.19), grains pod-1 (3.89), pod length (5.08 cm), 100-grain weight (11.21 g), seed yield (2191 kg ha-1), straw yield (3270 kg ha-1), biological yield (5461 kg ha-1), protein content (42.0%) and oil content (21.9%). The results indicate that 90 kg P2O5 ha-1 combined with seed and soil application of Trichoderma longibrachiatum may improve soybean productivity under similar agro-climatic conditions.