Effect of organic inputs on growth, yield and quality of yellow berried nightshade (Solanum xanthocarpum Schrad. & Wendl.)

Abstract

The research was carried out in the Medicinal plants unit, Department of Horticulture, Annamalai University, Annamalai nagar, Chidambaram, Cuddalore district, Tamil Nadu, India during the year 2023-2024, to study the effect of organic inputs on growth, yield and quality of yellow berried nightshade (Solanum xanthocarpum Schrad. & Wendl.). The experiment was conducted for two seasons in factorial randomized block design (FRBD) with ten treatment combinations each replicated thrice comprising organic inputs and foliar supplements. The different organic inputs tried were vermicompost 5 t ha-1, poultry manure 5 t ha-1, neem cake 5 t ha-1, commercial organic manure 10 kg ha-1 and farm yard manure 25 t ha-1 and foliar supplements tried were panchagavya 3% and seaweed extract 4%. Among them treatment combination, M1S1 (vermicompost 5 t ha-1 + panchagavya 3%) exhibited superior performance in both the seasons with respect to growth, yield and quality parameters such as plant height (71.12 and 70.29 cm), number of branches plant-1 (10.51 and 10.09), number of flowers plant-1 (63.47 and 59.98), number of fruits plant-1 (39.02 and 34.62), individual fruit weight (12.48 and 12.36 g), fruit yield plant-1 (464.27 and 448.33 g), chlorophyll content (48.57 and 47.21), root length (33.45 and 32.89 cm) and crude protein content (2.31 and 2.22%) followed by M2S1 (poultry manure 5 t ha-1 + panchagavya 3%). The highest percentage yield improvement was obtained in M1S1 which was 33.81% over control.