EFFECT OF REDUCED DOSES OF CHEMICAL FERTILIZERS WITH VERMICOMPOST ON THE GROWTH AND YIELD OF OKRA (Abelmoschus esculentus)

Abstract

An experiment was conducted in Soil Science research field, Hajee Mohammad Danesh Science and Technology University, Dinajpur, over the period of May 2023 to September 2023. The experiment was laid out in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with six treatments and three replications. Six fertilizer treatments were used which were T1= control, T2 = 100% RDF, T3 = 75% Recommended doses of NPK + 1 t ha-1 Vermicompost, T4 = 50% Recommended doses of NPK + 2.5 t ha-1 Vermicompost, T5 = 25% Recommended doses of NPK + 5.0 Vermicompost, T6 = 7.5 t ha-1 Vermicompost. The fertilizers were distributed according to the treatment in individual plots. NPKS was applied as urea, TSP and MOP and gypsum at the rate of 150, 100, 150 and 40 kg per ha-1 respectively. Vermicompost was applied at the rate of 7.5 t ha-1, respectively. The results of the experiment revealed that plant height, number of leaves plant-1, fruit weight plot-1, no. of fruits plant-1, fruit length (cm) was significantly influenced by vermicompost and NPK fertilizers. The T3 treatment (75% RDF + 1 t ha-1 vermicompost), produced the maximum result on plant height (96 cm), number of leaves plant-1 (13.0), fruit weight plot-1 (122.3 g), no. of fruits plant-1 (18), fruit length (16.1 cm) The findings of the study showed that the performance of the treatment T3 was the maximum among all other treatments in respect of While the minimum result on plant height (21.7 cm), number of leaves plant-1 (7.6), fruit weight plot-1 (44.3 g) , no. of fruits plant-1 (11.3), fruit length (11.2cm) was recorded from T1 treatment (control). Therefore, application of 75% recommended dose of NPKS combined with 1 t ha-1 vermicompost fertilizers was suggested for the better growth and yield of okra cultivation. The result of post-harvest soil properties revealed that combined application of chemical fertilizer and Vermicompost significantly increased the total N, available P, exchangeable K, available S, and organic in the soil when compared with the control or sole application of chemical fertilizers. The treatment T6 (7.5 t ha-1 Vermicompost) showed superior in respect of post-harvest OC, PD, and NPKS content. The overall results suggested that application of 75% RDF + 1.0 t ha-1 vermicompost would be suitable for profitable okra cultivation in summer season.