Effect of Integrated Nutrient Management on Growth and Yield Parameters in French bean Genotypes (Phaseolus vulgaris L.)

The field experiment was conducted at the students’ experimental field of the School of Agriculture, Loyola Academy, during the Rabi season of 2025. Two French bean genotypes (Malgudi and Anuradha) were evaluated under five treatments: T1 (control), T2 (100% NPK, RDF), T3 (100% biofertilisers: Rhizobium + PSB), T4 (50% NPK + 50% biofertilisers) and T5 (75% NPK + 25% biofertilisers). The experiment was laid out in a randomised block design (RBD) with three replications. Significant differences were observed in growth and yield parameters among the nutrient management treatments. T5 recorded the highest plant height (40.71 cm), number of branches (9.1) and number of leaves per plant (24.75), followed by T4, whereas the lowest values occurred under T1. The application of 75% chemical fertilisers (NPK) supplied essential nutrients, including nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, required for vegetative growth, flowering and pod development. Similarly, the highest yield parameters were recorded under T5: 58 pods per plant, 6.70 seeds per pod, pod length of 14 cm, pod diameter of 1.43 cm, individual pod weight of 4.82 g, green pod weight of 178 g per plant, green pod yield of 19.75 kg per plot and green pod yield of 26.3 t/ha. T4 followed T5, while T1 recorded the lowest values. Genotypic differences in growth and yield parameters were also observed across treatments. Malgudi exhibited higher growth parameters and a pod yield of 19.64 kg/plot compared with 18.33 kg/plot for Anuradha. The higher yield of Malgudi suggests better adaptability, genetic potential, growth characteristics and resistance to environmental stress than Anuradha. Overall, the differences in growth and yield parameters indicated that the types and proportions of chemical fertilisers and biofertilisers influenced the growth and productivity of French bean. These results suggest that integrating chemical fertilisers and biofertilisers may be more effective and economical than relying excessively on chemical fertilisers alone.