Impact of Integrated Nutrient Management (INM) on the growth, yield and quality of okra in Bhopal district of Madhya Pradesh

Abstract

Okra, a culinary crop of significant economic value, is widely cultivated across the nation during both the summer and rainy seasons owing to its remarkable capacity to thrive in diverse environmental conditions. The fertilizers use in excess amount affects the health of soil and human. Keeping the above points in view, the present experiment was conducted to investigate the impact of Integrated Nutrient Management (INM) on the Growth, Yield and Quality of Okra in Bhopal District of Madhya Pradesh. The field experiment was carried out at the Agriculture Research Farm, School of Agriculture Science, LNCT University, Bhopal, India from March to June 2024, using a randomized block design (RBD) with thirteen treatments and three replications. The thirteen treatment combinations viz. T0 (Absolute Control), T1 (Recommended dose of NPK 100:50:50 kg ha-1), T2 (FYM @ 20 t ha-1), T3 (Poultry Manure @ 10 t ha-1), T4 (FYM @ 10 t ha-1 + PM @ 5 t ha-1), T5 (Vermicompost @ 10 t ha-1), T6 (FYM @ 10 t ha-1 + Vermicompost @ 5 t ha-1), T7 (Poultry manure @ 5 t ha-1 + Vermicompost @ 5 t ha-1), T8 (FYM @ 10 t ha-1+ Poultry manure @ 5 t ha-1 + Vermicompost @ 5 t ha-1), T9 (NPK @ 50% of RDF + FYM @ 10 t ha-1 + PM @ 5 t ha-1), T10 (NPK @ 50% of RDF + FYM @ 10 t ha-1 + VC @ 5 t ha-1), T11 (NPK @50% of RDF + Poultry manure @ 5 t ha-1 + Vermicompost @ 5 t ha-1) and T12 (NPK @ 75% of RDF + FYM @ 2.5 t ha-1 + Poultry manure @ 2.5 t ha-1 + Vermicompost @ 2.5 t ha-1) were allocated randomly in each plot. The findings indicated that treatment T12 exhibited the highest performance among all treatments at all successive growth, yield and quality parameters. On the other hand, treatment T0 (Absolute control) showed the lowest response in terms of growth, yield, and quality of okra, as well as number of pods per plant, weight of single pod, average length of pods, total pod yield, and quality parameters like TSS, protein and ascorbic acid content.