Vol. 9, Special Issue 12, Part I (2025)

An experiment conducted in 2023-2024 investigated bio-stimulants' effect on growth, yield and quality of banana cv. Grand Naine. A Randomised Block Design with ten treatments, replicated thrice, was employed, comparing RDF (recommended dose of fertiliser) alone to RDF supplemented with various combinations of N, P and K fixing NAU isolates and IAA isolates. These treatments were applied at planting and flowering. The results revealed a significant influence of treatments on the parameters studied. Specifically, the treatment RDF + NPK fixing NAU isolates (2.5 ml) + IAA isolates (2.5 ml) (T₉) consistently outperformed others. It resulted in maximum plant height, girth, leaf number and leaf area. Furthermore, T₉ led to earlier flowering and harvesting. Regarding yield, T₉ produced the highest number of fingers and hands per bunch, bunch weight and yield per hectare. Finger weight, length and girth were also maximized. In terms of quality, T₉ exhibited the highest TSS, total sugar, reducing sugar, ascorbic acid content and shelf life. Soil analysis indicated that N content was highest with N-fixing isolates, P with P-fixing isolates and K with K-fixing isolates. Notably, T₉ also showed the highest bacterial count in the soil. Therefore, soil application of RDF + NPK fixing isolates + IAA isolates at planting and flowering promotes growth, yield and quality and improves soil health.