EFFECT OF DIFFERENT DOSES OF COW DUNG WITH CHEMICAL FERTILIZER ON NAPA SHAK (Malva verticillata L.)

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted at Soil Science Research Field, Hajee Mohammad Danesh Science and Technology University (HSTU), Dinajpur, Bangladesh December 2022 to February 2023 aimed to evaluate the impact of various organic and chemical fertilizers and their combination on Napa Shak growth. The experiment involved six treatments: T1 = Control, T2 = Cow dung (1 t ha -1) + chemical fertilizers (125 kg ha-1 urea, 75 kg ha-1 TSP and 100 kg ha-1 MOP), T3 = Cow dung (3 t ha -1) + chemical fertilizers (125 kg ha-1 urea, 75 kg ha-1 TSP and 100 kg ha-1 MOP), T4 = Cow dung (5 t ha -1) + chemical fertilizers (125 kg ha-1 urea, 75 kg ha-1 TSP and 100 kg ha-1 MOP), T5 = Cow dung (7 t ha -1) + chemical fertilizers (125 kg ha-1 urea, 75 kg ha-1 TSP and 100 kg ha-1 MOP) , T6 = Cow dung (10 t ha -1) + chemical fertilizers (125 kg ha-1 urea, 75 kg ha-1 TSP and 100 kg ha-1 MOP) in RCBD experimental design. The data was collected on plant height (cm), fresh shoot weight (g), fresh root weight (g) and availability of post-harvest soil S (ppm), P (ppm), exchangeable K (meq 100 g-1 soil), total N (%), pH, OC (%), and OM (%). The Statistix 10 program was used for data analysis, and the Least Significant Difference (LSD) test was utilized to evaluate disparities between treatments. The study found that cow dung combined with chemical fertilizers significantly improved the height of plants, shoots and roots fresh weight of Napa Shak. The highest plant height was 18.15 cm at 15 DAS, followed by T5, T4, and T3. The lowest value was T1 (11.59 cm). The highest plant height was achieved at 30 DAS, with T6 reaching 27.00 cm, followed by T5, T4, and T3, and T2 and T1 having the smallest height of 15.40 cm. Move to the harvest, the highest plant height obtained from T6 (52.70 cm) which was statistically similar to the T5 (50.07 cm) followed by T4 (42.37 cm). The smallest plant height was obtained from T1 (control) (24.90) cm. The highest shoot fresh weight was obtained from T6 (6.70 g), followed by T5, T4, T3, and T2 and lowest was T1 (control) of 0.35 g. Root fresh weight was statistically similar for all treatments, but T3 had the highest value (0.53 g) after harvest. The highest availability of N, P, S, pH, OC and OM were found 0.16%, 39.46 ppm, 15.32 ppm, 6.27, 0.67% and 1.17 % respectively in T6 and the lowest from the T1. The study suggests further research on cow dung combined with chemical fertilizers for Napa Shak cultivation in different Agroecological zones (AEZ) of Bangladesh for regional adaptability.