Abstract

Use of microbial inoculants to enhance the nutrient uptake of any traditional medicinal plant is prerequisite to keep its medicinal value. In order to optimize the microbial inoculants for ashwagandha Withania Somnifera (L) Duna nutrient management, experiments were conducted. The effective strains of Azospirillum, Azotobacter, Bacillus and Pseudomonas isolated and characterized from different medicinal plants of Tamil Nadu were evaluated for ashwagandha under pot-culture condition. The results revealed that combined inoculation of A. lipoferum - AAs-11, Azotobacter - AAz-3, Bacillus - APb-1 and Pseudomonas fluorescens - APs-1 enhanced the biochemical constituents of ashwagandha such as chlorophyll, protein and total alkaloid contents compared to single and other combinations. Further, this bioinoculant package along with panchakavya spray enhanced the rhizosphere microbial activity of ashwagandha. It is concluded that these microbial inoculants in combination with panchakavya is the best organic nutrient management package for ashwagandha

Keywords: Ashwagandha, alkaloid, microbial inoculants, medicinal plants, rhizosphere