Nutrient availability, nutrient uptake and economics of bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) under drip fertigation

Abstract

During the 2020-2021 period, a field experiment titled "Standardization of fertigation schedule for bottle gourd in the summer season" was conducted. Employing a Randomized Block Design, the experiment comprised ten treatments replicated three times. Bottle gourd crops were manually planted on January 2nd, 2021, with a spacing of 2 x 1 meters. Results indicated that the treatment involving drip irrigation with 100% recommended fertilizer dosage through fertigation according to growth stages (T1) demonstrated significantly superior growth and yield characteristics for bottle gourd. Notably, this treatment recorded the highest yield at 39.19 tons per hectare. Similarly, it was comparable to treatments T4 (38.20 t/ha) and T2 (37.38 t/ha), which involved 100% RDF through fertigation in 18 equal splits and drip irrigation with 80% recommended fertilizer dosage through fertigation according to growth stages, respectively. Soil NPK availability increased with the crop's age, peaking at 60 days after planting (DAP). Treatment T1 exhibited the highest availability of NPK at 60 DAP (219.3 kg/ha of nitrogen, 28.33 kg/ha of phosphorus, and 358.51 kg/ha of potassium), on par with T4 and T2, while T9 showed the lowest availability. Additionally, the highest total NPK uptake occurred in T1 at harvest (78.27 kg/ha of nitrogen, 22.04 kg/ha of phosphorus, and 91.80 kg/ha of potassium), with similar results observed in T4 and T2, and the lowest nitrogen uptake in T9. Based on these findings, it can be concluded that drip irrigation with 80% recommended fertilizer dosage through fertigation according to growth stages yields higher production, nutrient availability, and uptake for bottle gourd (var. Samrat) cultivated in medium-deep soils of Maharashtra, offering 20% fertilizer savings.