EFFECT OF VERMICOMPOST AND NPK FERTILIZERS ON THE GROWTH AND YIELD OF WHEAT (Triticum aestivum L.)

Abstract

An experiment was conducted in the Soil Science research field of Hajee Mohammad Danesh Science and Technology University (HSTU), Dinajpur during the period of November 2016 to March 2017 in order to investigate the effects of vermicompost and NPK fertilizers on the yield and yield contributing characteristics of wheat. The experiment was laid out in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with five treatments and four replications. Fertilizer treatments were T1 =Control (without fertilizer) T2= Recommended doses of N P K fertilizer, T3= Recommended dose of vermicompost, T4= 1 ⁄2 recommended doses N P K fertilizers + 1 ⁄3 recommended doses of vermicompost, T5= 1 ⁄3 recommended doses of N P K fertilizers + 2 ⁄3 recommended doses of vermicompost. The experimental results revealed that plant height, spike length, number of tillers hill-1 , number of spikelet spike-1, straw weight and grain weight were significantly dependent on combined effect of vermicompost and NPK fertilizers. The highest plant height (88.50 cm) was observed in T2 treatment which was statistically similar to the T4 (87.35 cm) and T5 (86.30 cm) treatment and the lowest was found in the control. The maximum number of tillers (7.85) was produced in the treatment T4 and minimum number (3.9) was found in the control. The highest number of grain (58.90) was found in the treatment T4 and the lowest number of grain spike-1 (25.25) was observed in the control treatment. Grain and straw yield of wheat plants were significantly influenced with the application of NPK fertilizer along with vermicompost. It was found that the application of 1 ⁄2 NPK fertilizer along with 1 ⁄3 vermicompost produced the highest grain (3.38 t ha-1) and straw (4.73 t ha-1) yields. The control treatment produced the lowest grain (1.2 t ha-1) and straw (2.13 t ha-1) yields. The findings of the experiment revealed that the performance of the treatment T4 ( 1 ⁄2 NPK fertilizer + 1 ⁄3 vermicompost) was the best among the other treatments in respects of tillers hill-1, number of grain spike-1, spike length, grain yield and straw yield of wheat. Therefore, the overall results indicate that the application of ½ NPK fertilizers along with 1 ⁄3 vermicompost can be more efficient and economic for wheat production.