EFFECT OF ORGANIC FERTILIZERS ON THE GROWTH AND YIELD OF OKRA (Abelmoschus esculentus L.)

Abstract

A pot experiment was conducted inside the net house of Hajee Mohammad Danesh Science and Technology University (HSTU), Dinajpur during the period of February to July 2023 to study the effect of organic fertilizers on the growth and yield of okra. The experiment was carried out with nine treatments viz T1 = Control (No fertilizer application), T2 = Recommended doses of NPK fertilizers, T3 = 4 teaspoon full of each used tea leaves, eggshells powder and dried banana peel, T4 = 6 TS of each used tea leaves, eggshells powder and dried banana peel, T5 = 8 TS of each used tea leaves, eggshells powder and dried banana peel, T6 = 10 TS of each used tea leaves, eggshells powder and dried banana peel, T7 = 12 TS of each used tea leaves, eggshells powder and dried banana peel, T8 = 14 TS of each used tea leaves, eggshells powder and dried banana peel, T9 = 16 TS of each used tea leaves, eggshells powder and dried banana peel. Organic fertilizers were applied to the different pots according to the treatments. The highest values of different parameters such as plant height (26.35, 68.63, 73.85 and 76.95 cm at 20, 40 ,60 and 80 DAS, respectively), number of leaves plant-1 (6.13, 9.50, 10.25 and 11.25 at 20, 40, 60 and 80 DAS, respectively), fresh and dry weight of shoot (62.63 and 25.13 g plant-1, respectively), fresh and dry weight of root (7.85 and 2.23 g plant-1, respectively), root length of plants (14.38 cm) was obtained in treatment T8 where 14 teaspoon full of used tea leaves, egg shell powder and dried banana peel was applied. The maximum fruits number and fruit weight (10.50 plant-1 and 116.10 g plant-1, respectively) were recorded in T6 treatment where 10 teaspoons full of used tea leaves, eggshell powder and dried banana peel were applied. Furthermore, the highest total N (0.20%), available P (82.00 ppm), exchangeable K (0.18 meq 100-1 g soil) and available S (16.00 ppm) content in post-harvest soil was also at T9 treatment. The lowest values of all the parameters were found at T1 treatment. Thus, the results indicated that application of used tea leaves, eggshell powder and dried banana peel can reduce the use of inorganic fertilizers to a sustainable level which ultimately reduces the cost of production of okra. Overall, the results suggested that use of mentioned organic fertilizers in certain amount can be better for cultivation of okra in respect to higher yield and satisfactory growth.