www.ijird.com April, 2014 Vol 3 Issue 4 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INNOVATIVE RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT Page 407 Effect of Biofertilizers on the Growth and Development of Mung Plant under Normal and Salt Stressed Conditions 1. Introduction Agriculture is the foundation of Pakistan’s affluence. Sustainable productivity in our agricultural ecosystems is a major objective. Sustainable agriculture depends on a whole-system approach whose overall objective is the lifelong health of the land and the community ( Brodt, et al. 2011). There are a number of vital limitations of sustainable farming and causing low yield (Parikh & James, 2012). They comprise soil humiliation (alkalinity, soil salinity, corrosion and soil fertility reduction), decline of water resources, unprofessional ways of irrigation methods and the allotment of the land holdings and deprived farming practices. Land has key importance for farming production. More or less all types of soils have water soluble salts. Vital nutrients in the soluble form are taken up through the plants, although these salts in too much amount, i.e., Salt stress, stifle plant development. Soil scarcity due to Stalinization is promising as an alarming hazard to sustainable agriculture. The effects of salinity are disturbing in arid and semi arid environments (Azhar et al., 2007). The crop yields are condensed so severely at elevated salt levels ( Steppuhn, 2013) and crop farming is not reasonable with any soil amendments. Osmotic potential of water is lowered by addition of salts, resulting in decreased availability of water to the roots and therefore exposes plants to secondary osmotic stress. This implies that all the physiological responses linked with the drought stress can also be invoked by salt stress (Barus et al., 2013). The condition is still more threatening in developing countries, such as Pakistan. Place of Pakistan falls in the region with semi-arid to arid type of climate (Qamar-uz-Zaman and G. Rasul, 2003-2004). Some of the microorganisms, mostly important bacteria and fungi can increase plant performance under stress condition and, consequently, get better yield (Evelin et al., 2009) At high salinity point, it was found that treatments supplied by biofertilization with yeast decreased the unpleasant outcome of salinity (Moradi et al., 2011). Trichoderma spp are fungi frequently present in soils, on plant roots. Some genes of Trichoderma species can be used to give resistance to the biotic and abiotic stresses such as salt, heat and drought (Kuc J, 2001). Some Trichoderma rhizosphere-competent strains that can colonize root surfaces have been shown to have direct effects on plants, escalating their growth potential and nutrient uptake, fertilizer efficiency consumption, proportion and rate of seed germination, and induced systemic resistance (ISR) to diseases ISSN 2278 – 0211 (Online) Dr. Rabia Badar Associate Professor, Department of Botany, Jinnah University for Women, Nazimabad, Karachi, Pakistan Iqra Aslam MSc. Student Department of Botany, Jinnah University for Women, Nazimabad, Karachi, Pakistan Asif Ilyas MS Student, Department of Economics, University of Peshawar, Pakistan Abstract The given research evaluates the effect of biofertilizers on the growth and development of Mung plants (Vigna radiata). The biofertilizers was given to the plants as compost. Four different types of Trichoderma sp. were composted using Wheat bran as a carbon source @ 10 tons per hectare. The result showed that, Living forms of microorganisms induced an overall higher increase in growth and developments of plants. Salinity treatments also reduced all growth parameters as compared to control untreated plant. Whereas, the application of Trichoderma overcomes the inhibitory effect of salt on plant growth. Trichoderma spp. promoted the root growth and shoot growth of the mung plants as compared to the untreated plants. The promotion in length of the studied plant was significant with the application of living biofertilizers alone and along with low concentration of salinity (i.e.0.2 % NaCl). Key words: Mung plants, biofertilizers, Trichoderma, salinity, compost