Potential of different enriched organic manures and bio-stimulants on growth, yield and quality of organic carrot

Abstract

Carrot is an important salad crop worldwide. Demand of organic carrot is increasing day by day in India and other countries. Generally, farmers are growing carrot organically by using farmyard manure to fulfil the nutrient requirement of the crop, which is not sufficient for yield optimization. To combat this, field experiments were conducted at UBKV, West Bengal during 2018-19 and 2019-20 to study the effect of different enriched organic manures and liquid bio-stimulants on growth, yield and quality attributes of carrot (Daucus carota L.). 18 different treatment combinations were laid in split plot design with 3 replications. The pooled result revealed that carrot growth, root yield, TSS and vitamin C contents were significantly influenced by the application of different organic nutrient sources and bio-stimulants. Significant change in physico-chemical properties of soil like organic carbon, available nitrogen and available potassium content after 2 years of harvest were observed in different treatments. Results of the experiment clearly suggested that nutrient schedule consists of Azophos biofertilizer enriched farmyard manure (20 t ha-1) as basal application and foliar spray of jiwamrita (3%) at 45, 60 and 75 days after seed sowing emerged as best combination for organic carrot cultivation.