EFFECT OF POULTRY LITTER COMPOST ON THE GROWTH AND YIELD OF ONION UNDER NEEM BASED AGROFROESTRY SYSTEM

Abstract

A study was conducted at the Research Field of the Department of Agroforestry and Environment, Hajee Mohammad Danesh Science and Technology University (HSTU), Dinajpur to investigate the effect of poultry litter (PL) on the growth and yield parameters of onion (Foridpury variety) under neem based agroforestry system. The experiment was conducted during the period of January 2024 to April 2024. The experiment was performed with Randomized Complete Block Design with four treatments and three replications. The treatments were: T1 = Control (no PL), T2 =PL 3 ton/ha, T3 = PL 5 ton /ha and T4= PL 7.5 ton/ha. Therefore, there were 12 experimental plots (4 treatments × 3 replications) of size 2m × 2m. The results demonstrated that growth parameters and yield were significantly different among the different treatments. The highest plant height (53.62 cm) and number of leaves plant per plant (5.2) were obtained in T3, while lowest was recorded in Control (T1). Similarly the highest straw yield (1032kg) ha-1, highest bulb length (7.15 cm), bulb diameter (3.46 cm), fresh weight of bulb (18.6 g), yield plot-1 (3.43kg) and yield ha-1 (8.56 ton) were obtained from treatment T3. The soil chemical properties were improved due to the application of poultry litter. From economical point of view, the highest BCR (2.53) was recorded in T3 treatment and the lowest BCR (1.78) was recorded in T1 treatment. In conclusion, the application of 5 tons/ha of poultry litter (T3) significantly enhanced the growth and yield parameters of onions, proving to be the most effective treatment. Economically, this treatment also yielded the highest benefit-cost ratio, indicating its superiority in both agronomic and financial terms under neem based agroforestry system.