AUTHOR=Mathimaran Natarajan , Jegan Sekar , Thimmegowda Matadadoddi Nanjundegowda , Prabavathy Vaiyapuri Ramalingam , Yuvaraj Perisamy , Kathiravan Raju , Sivakumar Mohanur Natesan , Manjunatha Baiyapalli Narayanswamy , Bhavitha Nayakanahalli Chikkegowda , Sathish Ayyappa , Shashidhar Gurudevarahalli Chikkathamegowda , Bagyaraj Davis Joseph , Ashok Ettigi Gurubasappa , Singh Devesh , Kahmen Ansgar , Boller Thomas , Mäder Paul TITLE=Intercropping Transplanted Pigeon Pea With Finger Millet: Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi and Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria Boost Yield While Reducing Fertilizer Input JOURNAL=Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems VOLUME=4 YEAR=2020 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/sustainable-food-systems/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2020.00088 DOI=10.3389/fsufs.2020.00088 ISSN=2571-581X ABSTRACT=

Pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan) and finger millet (Eleusine coracana) are staple food crops for millions of the rural population in Asia and Africa. We tested, in field trials over three consecutive seasons at two sites in India, an intercropping and biofertilization scheme to boost their yields under low-input conditions. Pigeon pea seedlings were raised during the dry season and transplanted row-wise into fields of finger millet, and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (Pseudomonas) were added alone or in combination to both pigeon pea and finger millet. Our major findings are (i) effects of the biofertilizers were particularly pronounced at the site of low fertility; (ii) dual inoculation of AMF+PGPR to finger millet and pigeon pea crops showed increased grain yields more effectively than single inoculation; (iii) the combined grain yields of finger millet and pigeon pea in intercropping increased up to +128% due to the biofertilizer application; (iv) compared to direct sowing, the transplanting system of pigeon pea increased their average grain yield up to 267% across site, and the yield gains due to biofertilization and the transplanting system were additive. These technologies thus offer a tool box for sustainable yield improvement of pigeon pea and finger millet.