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Abstract

A field experiment was conducted over two seasons (rabi 2020-21 and kharif 2021) at the ICAR-Indian In stitute of Rice Research farm, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad to evaluate the graded levels of Geoxol.com, FYM (Farm Yard Manure) and vermicompost along with recommended doses of inorganic fertilizers. The experi mental setup followed a randomized block design (RBD), involving eight treatments and three replications. Treatments included a control, RDF alone, and RDF in combination with FYM (10 t ha⁻¹), vermicompost (5 t ha⁻¹), and Geoxol.com at 10, 20, 40, and 60 kg ha⁻¹. The plant growth, yield and its components were significantly improved in all amended treatments over control. Although plant height and chlorophyll con tent showed no significant differences among treatments, the RDF + Geoxol.com combinations recorded the highest values. Yield attributes such as tillers, panicles per square meter and grains per panicle significantly enhanced with Geoxol.com application. RDF combined with 60 kg ha⁻¹ Geoxol.com yielded the highest grain yield (6140 kg ha⁻¹ reflecting a 27 % increase over RDF alone. Similarly, RDF + 40 kg ha⁻¹ Geoxol.com and RDF + 20 kg ha⁻¹ Geoxol.com also resulted in substantial yield improvements of 23 % and 19 %, respectively. Nutrient uptake of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium was significantly higher in Geoxol.com and FYM treated plots compared to control. While soil fertility parameters remained largely unchanged over a short period of two seasons, a slight increase in organic carbon was observed in Geoxol.com-treated plots. Notably, nutrient use efficiency indices particularly agronomic efficiency and partial factor productivity improved with Geoxol.com.