Microbial inoculants and foliar fertilizers improves groundnut grain yield in Sudan savannas small scale farmers

ABSTRACT:Improvement of the management of internal soil resources with low-input and cost-effective technologyin agriculture isafavorable way to sustain crops production by the smallholder farmers’in sub-Saharan Africa.The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of microbial inoculantsand/or foliar fertilizer on groundnut nodulation, shoot nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) concentration, and grain yield in Sudan savanna agroecological zone. Field experiments were carried out during the 2011 cropping season in Shanono and surrounding villages in Kano State, Nigeria. The shoot dry weight production was increased by the treatments of Rhizatech (104%), RACA6 + TSP (58%) and Agroleaf high P (55%). TSP application gave the highest nodulation(41%) and grain yield (72%). The combined application of RACA6 + Rhizatech, RACA6 + Agroleaf, and RACA6 + Eco-T + Agrolyser which produced 23.5, 22.4, and 22.1 g plant-1, respectively, enhanced the grain yield more than the individual application of either. Combined application of microbial and foliar fertilizer constitutes a promising way to towards low-input agriculture in groundnut production.