Abstract
The field experiment was carried out at the Demonstration Unit, Department of Rural Technology, H.N.B. Garhwal University, Srinagar Garhwal, Uttarakhand, to investigate the effects of inorganic and biofertilizers on brinjal growth and yield during the Kharif season of 2023–2024. All eight treatments involved different combinations of inorganic fertilizers (NPK), micronutrients (Borax and ZnSO₄), and biofertilizers (PSB and Rhizobium). The treatments consisted of T₁ (RDF), T₂ (RDF + Rhizobium), T₃ (RDF + Borax), T₄ (RDF + PSB), T₅ (RDF + ZnSO₄), T₆ (RDF + PSB + Rhizobium), T₇ (RDF + Borax + ZnSO₄ + PSB + Rhizobium) and T₈ (Control). The results revealed significant variation among treatments in growth and yield parameters. The treatment T₇ recorded maximum in terms of plant height, the highest number of primary branches, and maximum stem diameter, early flowering (36.66 days to first flowering and 40.33 days to 50% flowering), number of fruits per plant, fruit length, fruit diameter, fruit weight, fruit yield per plant, and fruit yield per plot (2.95 kg). The lowest values for most parameters were recorded in the control treatment (T₈). The study concluded that the integrated use of inorganic fertilizers, micronutrients, and biofertilizers significantly improved growth, yield attributes, and productivity of brinjal under hilly agro-climatic conditions.