Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci (2020) 9(3): 2551-2559 2551 Original Research Article https://doi.org/10.20546/ijcmas.2020.903.292 Evaluation of Different Levels of Phosphorus, Zinc and Arbuscular Mycorrhizae on Growth and Soil Parameters in Bell Pepper Gitika Bhardwaj*, Uday Sharma, Perminder Singh Brar and Rajesh Kaushal Department of Soil Science and Water Management, Dr Y S Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Solan, Himachal Pradesh, India *Corresponding author ABSTRACT Introduction Capsicum is cultivated over an area of about 29,800 ha in India with an annual production of 1,71,370 tonnes. This crop is extensively grown in the hills of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Andhra Pradesh and Nilgiris during summer months and as an autumn crop in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh. In Himachal Pradesh it is grown as an off season crop during summer and rainy season and bulk of bell pepper is transported to nearby and distant markets in Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and U.P bringing handsome monetary returns to the small and marginal farmers. Thus it is a remunerative crop to the farmers of the state having a great economic importance and cultivated over an area of about 2,260 ha with International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 9 Number 3 (2020) Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas.com The present investigation was conducted as a pot experiment to evaluate different levels of Phosphorus, Zinc and Mycorrhizae on growth and soil parameters in bell pepper during 2017. This experiment was carried out in the net house of Department of Soil Science and Water Management, Dr YSPUHF Nauni, Solan, Himachal Pradesh, India. The pot experiment comprised of 24 treatment combinations with 4 levels of Phosphorus i.e. P i - 0, P ii - 237.5 kg ha -1 Single Super Phosphate, P iii - 355.5 kg ha -1 Single Super Phosphate, P iv - 475 kg ha -1 Single Super Phosphate; 3 levels of Zinc, Zn i -5 kg ha -1 Zinc Sulphate, Zn ii - 7.5 kg ha -1 Zinc Sulphate Zn iii - 10 kg ha -1 Zinc Sulphate and 2 levels of mycorrhizal inoculation, I i – 0 and I ii - 15 g Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi per pot. The results obtained from this investigation was that with increase in application of Phosphorus, Zinc and Arbuscular Mycorrhizae, plant height, root length, total nutrient uptake increased. Along with this mycorrhizae also enhanced the total nutrient uptake by counteracting P-Zn deficiency in the plant. Keywords P-Zn Interaction, AM fungi, Antagonistic interaction, capsicum Accepted: 20 February 2020 Available Online: 10 March 2020 Article Info