Black chickpea and mustard are important Rabi crops in Rajasthan, India. This study explored comparative culturable rhizospheric bacterial population associated with black chickpea and mustard plants in the sandy soils of Bagru, Jaipur. The experiment was conducted from sowing to harvesting for the full crop season i. e. 110 days, and total 4 samples were collected in 30 days interval with NPK fertilizer. Plant growth was measured along with colony forming units from the rhizosphere of both the crops. Rhizospheric soil showed higher CFU/g as compared to bulk soil. Bulk soil contained 8.7 × 104 CFU/g and mustard rhizospheric soil contained 3.6 × 107 CFU/g, while black chickpea rhizospheric soil had 2.6 × 106 CFU/g. The CFU count was constantly increasing in the case of mustard, while it initially increased and then significantly decreased in the case of black chickpea at the harvesting time. The plant growth was positively correlated with CFU count. These results establish a correlation among soil, microbes, and plant. It is further, recommended that the application of nano fertilizers will be useful instead of traditional chemical fertilizer used in the sandy loam soil of this region. As these nano fertilizers may assist diverse plant growth promoting microbial population.

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