~ 2158 ~ Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry 2018; 7(5): 2158-2162 E-ISSN: 2278-4136 P-ISSN: 2349-8234 JPP 2018; 7(5): 2158-2162 Received: 22-07-2018 Accepted: 24-08-2018 Kapil Dev Poonia Department of Fruit Science, College of Horticulture and Forestry, Jhalawar, Agriculture University, Kota, Rajasthan, India Prerak Bhatnagar Department of Fruit Science, College of Horticulture and Forestry, Jhalawar, Agriculture University, Kota, Rajasthan, India MK Sharma Department of Natural Resource Management, College of Horticulture and Forestry, Jhalawar, Agriculture University, Kota, Rajasthan, India J Singh Department of Fruit Science, College of Horticulture and Forestry, Jhalawar, Agriculture University, Kota, Rajasthan, India Correspondence Kapil Dev Poonia Department of Fruit Science, College of Horticulture and Forestry, Jhalawar, Agriculture University, Kota, Rajasthan, India Efficacy of biofertilizers on growth and development of mango plants cv. Dashehari Kapil Dev Poonia, Prerak Bhatnagar, MK Sharma and J Singh Abstract A field experiment entitled “Effect of biofertilizers on growth and development of mango plants (Mangifera indica L.) cv. Dashehari” was conducted during the year 2017-18, at the Fruit Instructional Farm, Department of Fruit Science, College of Horticulture and Forestry, Jhalawar. The experiment consisted of different treatments of biofertilizers (Azotobacter and PSB) and Vermicompost and was laid out in Randomized Block Design. Amongst different biofertilizers treatments application, treatment T9 comprising biofertilizers (Azotobacter 50 g per plant + PSB 50 g per plant) along with 3 kg Vermicompost per plant was found significantly superior over other treatments with respect to growth and development parameters such as per cent increase in plant height, rootstock girth, scion girth, number of shoots per plant, number of nodes per shoot in mango cv. Dashehari. T9 treatment has also given better results in enhancing the organic carbon percentage, available N, P and K content of soil status and was found significantly superior over other treatments. Like-wise, soil pH and electrical conductivity also reduced significantly under T9 treatment over other treatments. Overall, T9 treatment exhibited better plant growth and development parameters and improvement in soil health of mango cv. Dashehari plants as compared to other treatments of biofertilizers. Keywords: Mango, biofertilizers, Azotobacter, PSB, vermicompost, growth and development Introduction Mango (Mangifera indica L.) is the most important and commercially grown fruit crop in India and is considered as national fruit. It belongs to the botanical family Anacardiaceae and is native of Indo-Burma region. Mango is intimately connected with folklore and religious rites in India. It has been in cultivation for over four thousand years in Eastern India and Burma. Occurrence of numerous wild and cultivated varieties, physiological, archeological, and other literary evidences suggest the existence of several ancient names, relation to climatology and geology and abundance in the garden of Bengal and Deccan favor the indo Burma origin as hot spot of biodiversity. Mango can be grown on wide range of soil variability under different agro-climatic conditions. It can grow from alluvial soil to lateritic soil and also under other soil conditions. It grows well in soil having slightly acidic pH range beyond 7.5. Mango thrives well in tropical and sub-tropical climate. It can be grown from sea level to an altitude of about 1100 meters. The favorable temperature is 24˚C to 27˚C for growth, though it can tolerate temperature as high as 48˚C if trees are given regular irrigation. Higher temperature during fruit development and maturity gives better quality fruits. Mango grows successfully in areas with wide precipitation variability ranging from 250 mm to 2500 mm annual rainfall, high humidity. Region having bright sunny days and moderate humidity during flowering are ideal for mango growing. India ranks first among world's mango producing countries accounting for 50 per cent of world mango production, but has a poor representation in international market. The reason of poor representation of Indian mango in the international market are poor appearance and inferior quality with poor shelf life, high infection of pest, persistence of chemical residue and occurrence of post-harvest diseases. The production through biological means may help in improving the gestation period with better framework, fruit quality, shelf life and aid in boosting export of Indian mangoes. The increasing cost of chemical fertilizers and their harmful effects on the soil health is also an important consideration for the use of organic nutrients enriched with biological organism. Jhalawar district is blessed with natural variability of mango plants with conducive environmental condition. Therefore the present studies were undertaken in newly established orchard of mango cv. Dashehari at Fruit Instructional Farm at College of Horticulture and Forestry, Jhalawar to find out the growth and development of mango under organic input of bio-resources. The optimum development of fruit plants with the use of organic inputs is need of an hour in view of degrading soil health due to excessive use of inorganic fertilizers.