Response of grain amaranth (Amaranthus hypochondriacus L.) to different sources of organics under protective irrigation

Abstract

A field study was conducted during Kharif 2021, 2022 and 2023 for three consecutive years at Agricultural Research Station, Arasikere, Hassan district, Karnataka to examine the response of grain amaranth (Amaranthus hypochondriacus L.) to different organic sources of nutrients. The three years of pooled data revealed that application of 50% N equivalent through FYM and 50% N equivalent through pongemia cake recorded significantly higher plant height, panicle length, number of fingers per panicle and grain yield (147.55 cm, 48.26 cm, 33.32 and 1791 kg/ha, respectively) which was on par with application of 50% N equivalent pongemia cake + 50% N equivalent Bio Digester Liquid Organic Manure (BDLM) as compared to other treatments. However, net returns and B:C ratio were higher with Application of 50% N equivalent pongemia cake +50% N equivalent Bio Digester Liquid Organic Manure (BDLM) during the study. This indicates Pongemia cake and BDLM are the cheap and best source of organic nutrients for higher yield in grain amaranth crop. Use of microbial consortia along with organic nutrient sources have significant influence on growth yield of grain amaranth.