Influence of various commercially available organic manures on growth, yield and nutrient accumulation in mint plants (Mentha sp.)

A pot experiment was set up using completely randomized design (CRD) to compare the influences of different commonly available organic manures in the markets of Dhaka, Bangladesh on the growth parameters and nutrient contents in Mint plants (Mentha sp.). Eight different manures were used as treatments for the comparison, viz. ACI, Alo, Annopurna Vermicompost, Cow dung, Kazi, Mazim, Modern Vermicompost and Trichocompost GBD, along with a control, taking three replications of each treatment. After 2.5 months (75 days) the plants were harvested. Trichocompost GBD showed the highest average number of leaves (130.33 plant-1), plant height (27.67 cm plant-1), number of branches (11.00 plant-1) and number of stolons at harvest (1.67 plant-1). The maximum average single leaf area (2.01 cm2 plant-1) and fresh weight (1.68 g plant-1) were observed in Kazi. ACI was observed to have the highest dry weight (0.26 g plant-1), whereas cow dung had the longest root (8.57 cm plant-1). Nutrient accumulation in leaf and stem exhibited the highest N in ACI, highest P and K in Alo, and highest S in Kazi. Correlation analysis of the explored traits with nutrient concentration of plant shoots was performed to elucidate the impact of plant nutrient contents on the analysed parameters. J. Biodivers. Conserv. Bioresour. Manag. 2021, 7(1): 73-84

Commercially available organic manures on growth, yield and nutrient content of Burmese Grapes (Baccaurea ramiflora)

A pot experiment was carried out in the net house of the Department of Soil, Water and Environment, University of Dhaka to evaluate the effectS of different organic manures on the growth performance, biomass production, NPKS content in leaf, stem and root of Burmese grapes (Baccaurea ramiflora) and some chemical properties of post- harvest soil. Two-month old Burmese grapes seedlings were planted in different organic manure-treated soils (viz. ACI, BGF, Bhola, Green Life, Kazi, Modern, Mazim, Payel, Payel Earth, and Shebok). A significant variation was observed among the treatments. Compared to control treatment, application of organic manures exhibited a significant influence on the physiological growth, viz. plant height (30.4 - 34.06 cm), leaf area (64.2 - 71.30 cm2/plant), leaf area index (0.17 - 0.19), fresh weight (32.2 - 53.06 g/plant), and dry weight (22.09 - 41.24 g/plant) after 120 days of the experiment. The highest plant height, leaf area, leaf area index, fresh weight, and dry weight were recorded in Kazi, BGF, Payel and Payel Earth, respectively. Similarly, the concentrations of N, P, K, and S in leaf, stem and root, and their uptakes were found significantly higher than the control. The highest N, P, K and S uptake by leaf, stem and root ranged from 37.66 - 41.69 kg/ha, 0.70 - 0.92 g/ha, 66.19 - 84.926 kg/ha and 6.82 - 10.11 kg/ha, respectively. Protein content was the highest in Payel in leaf (8%) and root (5%), and stem (7%) in Modern manure treatment. The overall results revealed that Kazi and Payel manures might be better for raising strong and healthy Burmese grape seedlings. J. Biodivers. Conserv. Bioresour. Manag. 2021, 7(1): 63-72

Response of Organic Manure and Azotobacter on Quality and Leaf Nutrient Status of Strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa Duch.) Cv. Winter Dawn

The field experiment was conducted during two subsequent years, i.e., 2017-18 and 2018-19 at the Department of Horticulture, Hisar with aim to study the effect of organic manures and Azotobacter on quality and leaf nutrient status of strawberry cv. Winter Dawn under hi-tech greenhouse conditions of Haryana. In this experiment, organic manures in combination with biofertilizers comprised of nine treatments, viz., T1: Sand: FYM (3:1), T2: Sand: FYM (2:1), T3: Sand: Vermicompost (3:1), T4: Sand: Vermicompost (2:1), T5: Sand: FYM (3:1) + Azotobacter, T6: Sand: FYM (2:1) + Azotobacter, T7: Sand: Vermicompost (3:1) + Azotobacter. T8: Sand: Vermicompost (2:1) + Azotobacter and T9: Control (Sand); were tested as potting media in complete randomized block design. Maximum TSS, ascorbic acid, anthocyanin content and minimum acidity content and leaf with maximum N, P and K content were observed under sand: vermicompost (2:1) + Azotobacter in comparison to the other treatments. The results of this experiment revealed that, the combination of sand: vermicompost (2:1) with Azotobacter showed significant influence on leaf nutrient content of strawberry and produced better results with respect to quality of strawberry fruits.

Effect of Organic Manures and Inorganic Fertilizer on the Leaf Characters of Banana

A field experiment was carried out at Instructional cum Research Farm, Department of Horticulture, Biswanath College of Agriculture, AAU, Biswanath Chariali to study the effects of organic manures and inorganic fertilizer on leaf characters of banana cv. Amritsagar (AAA) during 2016-2017. The research work was carried out with the treatments as follows T1: FYM (Farm Yard Manure) + Microbial Consortia, T2: Enriched Compost, T3: Vermicompost, T4: Microbial Consortia, T0: RDF (FYM + NPK). Healthy suckers were planted in each plot with spacing of 2.1m x 2.1m on 27th May 2016. The treatments T1, T2, T3 and T4 were laid out in certified organic block in RBD with 5 replications while the treatment T0 was laid out outside the organic block with five replications. In the organics, T1 recorded the highest number of functional leaves (7.97, 12.46 and 5.37) in vegetative stage, shooting stage and harvesting stage respectively. Highest leaf area of 2.69 m2 at vegetative stage and 11.17 m2 at shooting stage were recorded in T1 while lowest leaf area of 2.41 m2 at vegetative stage and 8.89 m2 at shooting stage were recorded in T4. Leaf area index was highest in T1. Chlorophyll content index in both vegetative stage (45.29) and shooting stage (65.56) was also highest in T1. Comparing the leaf characters (number of functional leaves, leaf area, leaf area index and chlorophyll content index) under organic treatments with that of T0 treated plants, it was found that plants treated with inorganic fertilizer had more number of functional leaves and better leaf character than that of the plants treated with organics.

Effect of Nutrient Management through Bio Organic Manures on Quality of Acid Lime (Citrus aurantifolia Swingle)

Acid lime (Citrus aurantifolia Swingle) is one of the commercial fruit crops which occupies important place in the fruit industry, but yield levels of citrus orchards are still very low. Alternate nutrient management system could help in achieving high yield and quality of acid lime. Thus, an investigation was undertaken on the “Effect of nutrient management through bio-organic manures on quality of acid lime (Citrus aurantifolia Swingle)” in the Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, Annamalai University, Annamalainagar, Tamil Nadu, India during 2016 – 2018. The experiment was laid out in randomized block design with twelve treatments, various organic manures, biofertilizers along with inorganic fertilizers including recommended dose of fertilization @ 100%, 75%, 50%, farm yard manure @ 100%, 50%, Vermicompost @ 100%, 50%, Biofertilizers ( 25g Azotobacter + 25g phosphate solubilising bacteria + 150g vesicular arbuscular mycorrhizal) were applied. The quality characters of acid lime were studied at different stages. The observations recorded viz., plant height (m), canopy spread east-west (m), canopy spread north-south (m), canopy height (m), no. of leaves per canopy, leaf area (cm2). The results revealed that plants treated with of T8 -75% RDF + 50% FYM + 50% Vermicompost + Biofertilizers (25g Azotobacter + 25g PSB + 150g VAM) was observed maximum plant height (m), canopy spread east-west (m), canopy spread north-south (m), canopy height (m), no. of leaves per canopy, leaf area (cm2).

Soil Quality and Pomelo Productivity as Affected by Chicken Manure and Cow Dung

Fruit orchards in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta (VMD) are severely degraded due to many factors, such as low organic matter content, soil acidification, and poor soil management. Organic manures are considered to be a soil conservation measure that decreases soil degradation and acidity. This study aimed to evaluate the impacts of soil organic amendments on the improvement of soil fertility and pomelo productivity. Two soil amendments, namely, chicken manure (CM) and cow dung (CD), were investigated for a period of three years at three pomelo orchards. The soil quality was assessed in two depths (0–20 and 20–50 cm), including the soil pH, electrical conductivity (EC), total nitrogen (Ntot), available phosphorus (Pavail), soil organic matter (SOM), bulk density (BD), and exchangeable cations (Ca, Mg, and K). The results indicated that CD and CM improved soil fertility in topsoil layer (0–20 cm) due to an increase in soil pH, SOM, exchangeable Ca, Ntot, and Pavail. In addition, soil BD significantly reduced after CD and CM were supplied in the three consecutive years of study. The soil quality properties that significantly affected pomelo yield were SOM, Ntot, Pavail, and soil BD. Thus, these soil qualities may be considered as key factors for determining and assessing soil quality in fruit orchards in the VMD. More studies on the influence of organic manures on nutrient uptake and pomelo fruit quality are warranted.

Standardization of Integrated Nutrient Management for Growth and Yield of Tomato

Aim: “Standardization of integrated nutrient management for growth and yield of tomato”. Study Design: The experiment was laid out in a randomized block design (RBD) with 14 treatments with three replications maintained. Place and Duration of Study: Experiment was carried out at the Instructional Farm, Faculty of Horticulture of Uttar Banga Krishi Vishwavidyalaya, and Pundibari, Cooch Behar during Rabi season of 2019 - 2020. Methodology: The treatments consisted of different combinations of organic manures and inorganic fertilizers i.e., T1 (Recommended NPK), T2 (100% FYM), T3 (100% VC), T4 (100% PM), T5 (100% NC), T6 (100% VC + 100% FYM + 100% PM + 100% NC), T7 (½ Recommended NPK + 50% FYM + 50% VC), T8 (½ Recommended NPK + 50% FYM + 30% VC + 20% PM), T9 (½ Recommended NPK + 50% FYM + 50% VC + NC), T10 (½ Recommended NPK + 50% FYM + 30% VC + 20% PM + NC), T11 (½ Recommended NPK + 50% FYM + 50% VC + PSB), T12 (½ Recommended NPK + 50% FYM + 30% VC + 20% PM + PSB), T13 (½ Recommended NPK + 50% FYM + 50% VC + NC + PSB) and T14 (½ Recommended NPK + 50% FYM + 30% VC + 20% PM + NC + PSB). Results: All the growth and yield parameters were recorded maximum stem girth at last harvest (14.85mm), days to first flowering (27.46), number of truss per plant (20.59), individual fruit weight (127.71g), fruit yield per plant (4.49 kg) and yield per hector (99.52t/ha) with treatment T8 (½ Recommended NPK + 50% FYM + 30% VC + 20% PM). Conclusion: The application of treatment T8 (½ Recommended NPK + 50% FYM + 30% VC + 20% PM) shown enhanced tomato production with minimal alteration to environment.

Biofertilizers for Sustainable Production of Strawberry: A-Review

Modern-day intensive strawberry cultivation relies on huge application of inorganic fertilizers, which not only disrupt the balance of nature but also reduce the economic efficiency; however, it cannot be eliminated at this time without drastically decreasing its production. Hence, to tackle these problems for sustainable production of crops, bio-fertilizers and organic manures are the best alternatives. The principle of this review is based on the goal of reducing synthetic fertilizers and other chemical input usage in strawberry production. The review discusses the diffuse nature of current reports in the literature concerning microbes as inputs towards a better use efficiency of fertilizers and the possibility of reducing the total amount of fertilizer usage and sustainable and quality strawberry production. Studies with bio-inoculants in combination with inorganic nutrients have proved that some inoculants such as Azotobactor, Azospirillum, Pseudomonas, Bacillus, Mycorrhizae fungi Aspergillus and Penicillium can increase the nutrient uptake of strawberry plant and increased fertilizers use efficiency. Biofertilizers in combination with inorganic fertilizers and organic manures have significant impact on plant growth (i.e., state some of the parameters here), yield (i.e., state some of the parameters here) and quality (i.e., state some of the parameters here). Likewise, organic manures improve soil physical conditions and supply all essential macro elements and microelements. These confirmations of concept studies will serve as the basis for vigorous future research into integrated nutrient management in strawberry.