Effect of rock phosphate enriched compost on yield and yield attributes of finger millet-cowpea cropping system in Cauvery command area, Karnataka

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted at Zonal Agricultural Research Station, VC Farm, Mandya during kharif 2017, summer 2018, kharif 2018 and summer 2019 to study the effect of rock phosphate enriched compost on yield and yield attributes of finger millet-cowpea cropping system. Prior to initiation of the field experiment, three different composts viz., urban solid waste compost (USWC), vermicompost and farm yard manure (FYM) were enriched with rock phosphate at 5 per cent. Field experiment consisting of eleven treatment combinations comprising recommended N and K, and P through varied levels of enriched composts. The experiment was laid out in RCBD design with three replications and the test crops were finger millet and cowpea. The initial P2O5 of the experimental site was very high (133.58 kg ha-1). The results revealed that application of recommended N and K + 75 per cent P supplied through enriched USWC (T5) had significantly higher grain (45.15) and straw yield (60.36 q ha-1) of finger millet and significantly higher grain (14.62) and haulm yield (29.98 q ha-1) of residual cowpea in pooled analysis and found on par with recommended N and K + 75 per cent P supplied through enriched vermicompost (T8). Yield attributes viz., number of ear heads hill-1 (4.30), number of fingers head-1 (6.43) and test weight (3.48 g) were recorded significantly in T5 treatment of finger millet. Similarly, treatment T5 noticed significantly higher number of pods plant-1 (27.34) and number of seed pod-1 (18.56) in residual cowpea.