Effect of organics on growth, yield and quality attributes of turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) Cv. tall clone

Abstract

An experiment was carried out during 2016-17 to study the effect of organics on growth, yield and quality attributes of turmeric. The experiment comprised of seven different organic treatments laid out in randomized block design. The treatments were T1: recommended dose of fertilizer, T2: In-situ incorporation of Dhaincha (Sesbania aculeata), T3: FYM @ 10t ha-1, T4: Enriched compost ≈ FYM @ 10 t ha-1 in the furrow at planting, T5: Vermicompost ≈ FYM @ 10t ha-1 + Microbial consortia as slurry for treatment of rhizome at planting, T6: Microbial consortia as slurry for treatment of rhizome with vermiwash (1:7) + Vermiwash spray (1:7) every month up to seven months of planting, T7: FYM@ 10 t ha-1 + Microbial consortia as slurry for treatment of rhizome at planting. The experimental results revealed that maximum plant height (167.23 cm), number of leaves per plant(23.46) number of tillers per plant (3.90), leaf area of a single leaf (648.33 cm2), leaf area per plant(15209.82 cm2), leaf area index (12.42 ) were observed in T1,they were followed by treatment T7 and T4 and the minimum was recorded in T6.The recommended dose of fertilizer (T1) also registered the highest number of mother rhizome (2.15), number of primary rhizome(6.54),number of secondary rhizome(16.79), number of tertiary rhizome(6.12),length of mother rhizome (11.16 cm),length of finger rhizome(11.35),girth of mother rhizome(6.62 cm),girth of finger rhizome (3.57 cm),fresh weight of rhizome(424.25g),dry weight of rhizome (72.08 g) and yield(335.25 q ha-1) which were followed by T7 and T4 and these parameters were lowest in treatment T6. Among the treatments T7 exhibited best performance in terms of curing percentage (18.09%) and curcumin content (3.62%).