Enhancement of Growth and Yield of Glycine max Plants with Inoculation of Phosphate Solubilizing Fungus Aspergillus niger K7 and Biochar Amendment in Soil

Addition of biochar in agriculture soil and bioinoculation of several fungi have been proved to benefit the growth and yield of crops; however, these have been mostly studied separately. Therefore, to perceive the effect of biochar along with Aspergillus niger K7, the present investigation was planned in soybean. Maximum solubilization was found at 20°C in vitro. Further, the strain was morphologically and molecularly identified. In plant-soil experiment, all the treatments showed a significant (p < 0.05) increase in growth, root nodulation, and yield of soybean plants; however, biochar supplemented with K7 treatment was the best. Hence, it can be concluded that the addition of both bioinoculant and biochar simultaneously can be a good practice to improve soil fertility and crop yield. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on comparative study of the effect of biochar and phosphorus (P)-solubilizing K7 strain on growth, yield and P uptake in soybean plants grown in Kumaon Himalayas.