Effect of integrated nutrient management on growth, yield and quality of papaya (Carica papaya L.) cv. Gujarat Junagadh Papaya

Abstract

The present study, entitled “Effect of integrated nutrient management on quality of papaya (Carica papaya L.) cv. Gujarat Junagadh Papaya 1,” was carried out for two consecutive years (2023-24 and 2024-25) at the Horticultural Research Farm, B. A. College of Agriculture, AAU, Anand, Gujarat. The experiment was laid out in a Randomized Block Design with ten treatments and three replications to evaluate the influence of inorganic fertilizers (RDF: 200:200:250 g NPK/plant), organic nutrient sources (FYM, vermicompost and castor cake) with Bio NPK liquid biofertilizer on quality attributes of papaya. Significant differences were observed among treatments for all recorded parameters. The treatment T3 (75% RDF + 25% N from vermicompost + Bio NPK Liquid Biofertlizer) consistently outperformed others by increased maximum total soluble solids (TSS oBrix), reducing sugar (%), non-reducing sugar (%), total sugar (%), minimum titratable acidity (%), significantly highest β-carotene (mg/100g) and pulp thickness (cm). In contrast, the control (T1) recorded the lowest values for quality traits, highlighting the importance of integrated nutrient application.