EFFECT OF LIQUID BIO FERTILIZERS ON GROWTH, YIELD AND SURVIVAL OF SEEDLINGS IN GARDEN RUE (RUTA GRAVEOLENS LINN.) R. C. Vijendrakumar*, B. S. Sreeramu, T. H. Shankarappa 1 , K. V. Santhosh 2 , A. P. Mallikarjuna Gowda and K. Umesha Department of Horticulture, College of Horticulture, U.H.S., Bagalkot, GKVK Post, Bengaluru-65 (Karnataka), India. 1 Assistant Prof., U.H.S., Bagalkot, College of Horticulture, Thamaka, Kolar (Karnataka), India. 2 University of Horticultural Sciences, Bagalkot, K. R. C. College of Horticulture, Arabhavi (Karnataka), India. Abstract A pot experiment was conducted to study the effect of different liquid bio fertilizers on growth, yield and survival of seedlings in garden rue (Ruta graveolens Linn.). Liquid bio fertilizers viz.; Azospirillum lipoferum, Pseudomonas striata and Pseudomonas fluorescens were used to treat root system of seedlings in single and combination before transplanting. The results revealed that, the treatments differed significantly with respect to growth, yield and survival of seedlings. Among the various treatments tried seedlings treated with the combinations of Azospirillum lipoferum, Pseudomonas striata and Pseudomonas fluorescens recorded highest values for plant height (51.40cm), number of branches (13.27), number of compound leaves (44.50), stem girth (8.27mm) and fresh bio-mass yield (73.73g) compare to single inoculation and control. Key words : Azospirillum lipoferum, Pseudomonas striata and Pseudomonas fluorescens. Plant Archives Vol. 14 No. 1, 2014 pp. 171-175 ISSN 0972-5210 Introduction Garden rue or common rue or Herb-of-Grace, botanically called as Ruta graveolens Linn. (family Rutaceae) is one of the important medicinal plant attaining high medicinal importance in recent times. The entire plant is of medicinal importance and has used to cure various ailments like kapha and vata, strangury, fever, flatulence and epilepsy, fresh plant act as scorpion and insects repellent, leaves and seeds boiled in olive oil and the mixture is rubbed for rheumatism pains and swellings (Vaidyaratnam, 1996) in the tradition system of medicines since ancient times. Ruta is a genus of strong scented, erect, glabrous herbs or under-shrubs of 30-90 cm height distributed throughout the Mediterranean region and Temperate Asia. Garden rue, is a native of Balkan Peninsula and South Eastern Europe, which is sturdy perennial plant with much branched rounded stem. Leaves alternate, shortly petioled, ultimate segments oblong to spathulate, leaflet with numerous translucent small short stalked oil glands containing a very irritating volatile oil, have a strong, disagreeable odour and bitter, acrid, pungent taste; flowers small, 12 mm in diameter, yellowish in corymbs, strongly aromatic; petals 4-5, spoon shaped with dentate or wavy margin; capsules small with lobes somewhat rounded (Prajapathi et al., 2003). The plant contains pilocarpine, which is used to induce abortion in horses. The fresh herb on steam distillation yields a pale or greenish volatile essential oil (0.06%) called rue oil, the oil is rich in methyl ketone (80-90%) and is used for the preparation of methyl-n-nonyl acetaldehyde, widely used as a synthetic perfume and also nowadays from rue plants, many number of products like Rue gel, Rue tea, Human growth complex, and Ruta graveolens capsules have been produced by the drug industries. It is a seed propagated crop and hence, there is great demand for seed materials in order to optimize production of garden rue for the supply of raw materials to the drug industries. But, poor germination, slow growth and survival of seedlings have rendered the rapid multiplication and production of sufficient herbage for the drug industries. The modern and intensive agriculture methods are not *Author for correspondence: E-mail: vijendrapma@gmail.com