Effect of different organic manures and inorganic fertilizers on growth and yield

of brinjal (Solanum melongena L.)A.B. MOHANKUMAR AND N.C. NARASE GOWDA

See end of the article for

authors’ affiliations

Correspondence to :

A.B. MOHANKUMAR

Division of Horticulture,

University of Agricultural

Sciences, G.K.V.K.,

BENGALURU

(KARNATAKA) INDIA

ABSTRACTTreatments with organic manures, inorganic fertilizers and their combinations showed significant

difference for growth and yield of brinjal crop. Application of recommended 25 t/ha of FYM N

through vermicompost and green manure (50% each) + recommended NPK (125:100:50 kg/ha)

recorded maximum plant height, number of leaves and total dry matter of plant. The number of

branches was highest in the treatment of 150% recommended FYM only, while the maximum

Chlorophyll content of the leaves was recorded with application of FYM N through FYM and

green manure (50% each) + recommended NPK. Earliness for first, fifty per cent flowering and

first harvest was observed with 100 per cent recommended FYM alone. Application of

recommended FYM + NPK recorded maximum yield per plot, per hectare and harvest index

during late Rabi season of 2004-2005, these treatments were significantly superior to recommended

inorganic fertilizer treatment, as well as to application different doses of organic manures alone

such as FYM and vermicompost, this indicated that integration of both organic manures and

inorganic fertilizers was important to improve the growth and yield characteristics of the crop.

•HIND AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH AND TRAINING INSTITUTE•

Brinjal (Solanum melongena L.) is one of the most

common tropical fruit vegetable. It is a rich source

of vitamins, minerals and organic acids. For realizing

higher yields and quality produce, soil health is a critical

factor. Therefore, chemical fertilizers must be integrated

with organic manures such as FYM, vermicompost, crop

residues and green manures which are renewable and

eco friendly to achieve sustainable productivity with

minimum deleterious effects of chemical fertilizers on soil

health and environment. The yield per unit area can be

increased along with the improvement of its quality through

the balanced application of organic and inorganic fertilizers

in proper combination, therefore the present investigation

was undertaken to find out the optimum dose and best

combination of organic manures and inorganic fertilizers

for obtaining higher yield of brinjal.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The field experiment was conducted at the

Horticulture Research Station, University of Agricultural

Sciences, Bangalore during late Rabi season of 2004-

2005. The experimental site is located at an altitude of

930m above MSL lying in eastern dry zone of Karnataka

(Zone 5). The soil was red sandy loam having organic

carbon (0.360%), pH (7.12), available N (197.16 kg/ha),

available P (25.00 kg/ha), available K (245.00 kg/ha). The

experiment was laid out in Randomized Complete Block

Design with three replications at a spacing of 75 x 60

cm. Twelve treatments of organic manures, inorganic

fertilizers and their combinations i.e., T1

- 75 per cent

recommended FYM only, T2 - 100 per cent recommended

FYM only, T3 - 125 per cent recommended FYM only,

T4 - 150 per cent recommended FYM only, T

5 - 75 per

cent of FYM N content was substituted through

vermicompost, T6 -100 per cent of FYM N content was

substituted through vermicompost, T7

-125 per cent of

FYM N content was substituted through vermicompost,

T8 -150 per cent of FYM N content was substituted

through vermicompost, T9- Recommended FYM N was

substituted through FYM and green manure (50% each)

+ recommended level of NPK, T10

- Recommended FYM

N was substituted through vermicompost and green

manure (50% each) + recommended level of NPK, T11

– Recommended FYM + NPK, T12

– Only recommended

Mohankumar, A.B. and Narase Gowda, N.C. (2010). Effect of different organic manures and inorganic fertilizers on growth and yield of

brinjal (Solanum melongena L.), Asian J. Hort., 5 (2) : 444-449.

Key words : Vermicompost, FYM, NPK, Dry matter, Chlorophyll, Harvest index

The Asian Journal of Horticulture; Vol. 5 No. 2; (December, 2010) : 444-449

Received : August, 2010; Accepted : November, 2010

Research Paper

445

[Asian J. Hort., Vol. 5 (2); Dec., 2010] •HIND AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH AND TRAINING INSTITUTE•

NPK were tried on brinjal variety BPLH-1 which is high

yielding, purple colored one, resistant to bacterial wilt

disease. All the recommended cultural practices were

followed during experiment. In order to make the plants

grow vigorously in FYM and vermicompost (i.e.,T1 to T

8)

treated plots, a boosters spray was given by soaking 5kg

of groundnut cake and 5kg of vermicompost in 50 l of

water each separately for two days. The supernatant

liquid from both the organic sources were filtered and

mixed. The mixing was sprayed on plants at 45, 60 and

75 days after planting (common for all the treatments T1

to T8). No serious diseases were observed during the

experimental period. The major pests found attacking the

crop were shoot and fruit borers. Shoot and fruit borer

affected shoots and fruits were removed and burnt as

and when noticed. And to repel the insects, fresh ground

neem kernel powder was placed in heaps of 500 g at

each spot in all the plots including the NPK applied plots.

This was repeated twice during the crop growth period

at an interval of 30 days after earthing up operation. Neem

powder heaps were covered by dried grass or leaves. In

addition to the above sprays of neem soap were given at

the rate of 10 g per litre at 15 days interval. The data on

growth and yield were recorded from 10 randomly

selected plants of each treatment and data analyzed

statistically as per standard procedure given by Panse

and Sukhatme (1967).

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Analysis of variance revealed that significant

differences were found among the treatments for all the

traits under study. In general it was observed that

irrespective sources of organic manures along with

inorganic fertilizers increased the plant height and number

of leaves per plant at early and later stages of crop growth.

Among the different organic manures application of

recommended FYM ‘N’ through vermicompost and green

manure (50% each) + full NPK registered maximum plant

height and number of leaves (Table 1 and 2), this might

be due to synergic effect of organic manures along with

inorganic fertilizers

Application of 150 per cent recommended FYM to

brinjal had conspicuously increased the number of

branches per plant (Table 3) it may be due to the steady

and adequate supply of nutrients from FYM.

Chlorophyll content of leaves increases with the

growing stage of the crop and after it reaches the final

stage chlorophyll content decreases gradually. In the

present experiment also chlorophyll content of leaves

increased up to 75 DAP and decreased as the age of

crop increased i.e., at 105 DAP (Table 4). The highest

chlorophyll content was recorded with the treatment of

recommended FYM N substituted through FYM and

green manure (50% each) + full NPK at all stages of

growth. The increase of chlorophyll might be due to

increased N availability from both organic and inorganic

Table 1: Plant height of brinjal as influenced by different sources of organic manures and in combination with NPK at different

stages of plant growth

Plant height (cm) at

Treatments 45 DAP 75 DAP 105 DAP

Final stage

of the crop

T1 - 75 per cent of recommended FYM only 25.00 72.53 80.13 82.56

T2 - 100 per cent of recommended FYM only 22.13 71.93 78.00 80.56

T3 - 125 per cent of recommended FYM only 21.60 76.60 81.46 84.40

T4 - 150 per cent of recommended FYM only 20.66 61.40 71.40 74.86

T5 - 75 per cent of FYM N substituted through VC 19.13 65.13 73.66 77.33

T6 - 100 per cent of FYM N substituted through VC 20.93 71.46 77.26 80.86

T7 - 125 per cent of FYM N substituted through VC 22.73 75.20 79.66 82.93

T8 - 150 per cent of FYM N substituted through VC 20.46 73.73 79.46 82.93

T9 - Recommended FYM N through FYM and GM (50 % each) +

recommended NPK

26.33 77.20 82.93 86.26

T10 - Recommended FYM N through VC and GM (50 % each) +

recommended NPK

27.00 82.66 91.00 89.86

T11 - Recommended FYM + NPK 26.26 77.20 85.80 87.86

T12 - Only recommended NPK 26.73 82.53 89.06 92.06

F-test * * * NS

S.E.± 1.14 3.31 1.06 -

C.D. (P=0.05) 3.36 9.71 3.11 -

DAP = Days after planting; * Significant; NS = Non - significant; GM=Green Manure; VC = Vermicompost

A.N. MOHANKUMAR AND N.C. NARASE GOWDA

•HIND AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH AND TRAINING INSTITUTE•

446

[Asian J. Hort., Vol. 5 (2); Dec., 2010]

EFFECT OF DIFFERENT ORGANIC MANURES & INORGANIC FERTILIZERS ON GROWTH & YIELD OF BRINJAL

447

[Asian J. Hort., Vol. 5 (2); Dec., 2010] •HIND AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH AND TRAINING INSTITUTE•

sources and since N is a constituent of chlorophyll. Similar

results were also reported by Krishna and Krishnappa

(2001).

Recommended FYM N substituted by FYM + green

manure (50% each) + recommended NPK delayed first

flower in (55.86 days), 50% flowering (66.00 days) and

first harvest (67.00 days) due to extended vegetative phase

of the plant by availability of inorganic nitrogen (Table 6).

Table 4 : Chlorophyll content of brinjal as influenced by different sources of organic manures, and in combination with NPK at

different stages of plant growth

Chlorophyll content of leaves at (mg/g) Treatments

45 DAP 75 DAP 105 DAP

T1 - 75 per cent of recommended FYM only 0.037 1.491 0.268

T2 - 100 per cent of recommended FYM only 0.053 1.562 0.255

T3 - 125 per cent of recommended FYM only 0.036 1.574 0.292

T4 - 150 per cent of recommended FYM only 0.038 1.545 0.327

T5 - 75 per cent of FYM N substituted through VC 0.036 1.533 0.243

T6 - 100 per cent of FYM N substituted through VC 0.036 1.556 0.289

T7 - 125 per cent of FYM N substituted through VC 0.040 1.578 0.283

T8 - 150 per cent of FYM N substituted through VC 0.035 1.560 0.359

T9 - Recommended FYM N through FYM and GM (50 % each) + recommended NPK 0.056 1.605 0.369

T10 - Recommended FYM N through VC and GM (50 % each) + recommended NPK 0.043 1.540 0.310

T11 - Recommended FYM + NPK 0.045 1.550 0.300

T12 - Only recommended NPK 0.056 1.553 0.289

F-test * * *

S.E.± 0.0019 0.0053 0.0044

C.D. (P=0.05) 0.0055 0.0155 0.0128

DAP = Days after planting; * Significant; GM = Green Manure; VC = Vermicompost

The results are in agreement with the findings of Bhatnagar

and Pandita (1979), Singh and Singh (1992), Renuka and

Ravisankar (2001), and Rao and Sankar (2001). The yield

attributes such as yield per plot and per hectare (54.39

kg and 48.347 t, respectively) were significantly highest

in the treatment of recommended FYM + NPK compared

to other organic sources and levels (Table 5). It has also

been observed that in most of the harvests the same

A.N. MOHANKUMAR AND N.C. NARASE GOWDA

Table 5 : Harvest index, fruit yield plot and per hectare of brinjal as influenced by different sources of organic manures and in

combination with NPK

Treatments Total yield per

plot (kg)

Harvest

index

Fruit yield per

hectare (t ha-1)

T1 - 75 per cent of recommended FYM only 37.80 0.759 33.599

T2 - 100 per cent of recommended FYM only 37.70 0.744 33.518

T3 - 125 per cent of recommended FYM only 31.62 0.704 28.110

T4 - 150 per cent of recommended FYM only 30.16 0.702 26.814

T5 - 75 per cent of FYM N substituted through VC 32.54 0.695 28.925

T6 - 100 per cent of FYM N substituted through VC 34.91 0.693 31.036

T7 - 125 per cent of FYM N substituted through VC 36.01 0.700 32.014

T8 - 150 per cent of FYM N substituted through VC 27.54 0.649 24.481

T9 - Recommended FYM N through FYM and GM (50 % each) +

recommended NPK

47.33 0.766 42.073

T10 - Recommended FYM N through VC and GM (50 % each) +

recommended NPK

44.00 0.758 39.111

T11 - Recommended FYM + NPK 54.39 0.779 48.347

T12 - Only recommended NPK 40.37 0.775 35.896

F-test * * *

S.E.± 1.72 0.00 1.57

C.D. (P=0.05) 5.19 0.02 4.62

* Significant ; GM = Green Manure; VC = Vermicompost

•HIND AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH AND TRAINING INSTITUTE•

448

[Asian J. Hort., Vol. 5 (2); Dec., 2010]

EFFECT OF DIFFERENT ORGANIC MANURES & INORGANIC FERTILIZERS ON GROWTH & YIELD OF BRINJAL

Table 6 : Days taken for first flowering, 50 per cent flowering and first harvest of brinjal as influenced by different sources of

organic manures and in combination with NPK

Treatments Days taken for

first flowering

Days taken for

50 per cent

flowering

Days taken

for first

harvest

T1 - 75 per cent of recommended FYM only 49.60 59.93 67.66

T2 - 100 per cent of recommended FYM only 49.13 59.26 67.00

T3 - 125 per cent of recommended FYM only 53.46 63.30 69.00

T4 - 150 per cent of recommended FYM only 53.33 63.60 69.66

T5 - 75 per cent of FYM N substituted through VC 53.06 63.40 68.33

T6 - 100 per cent of FYM N substituted through VC 55.33 65.33 67.66

T7 - 125 per cent of FYM N substituted through VC 53.00 63.66 67.66

T8 - 150 per cent of FYM N substituted through VC 54.26 65.06 68.33

T9 - Recommended FYM N through FYM and GM (50 % each) +

recommended NPK 55.86 66.00 67.00

T10 - Recommended FYM N through VC and GM (50 % each) +

recommended NPK 52.80 63.20 67.00

T11 - Recommended FYM + NPK 52.53 62.80 67.00

T12 - Only recommended NPK 55.00 65.73 69.66

F-test * * *

S.E.± 0.31 0.39 0.40

C.D. (P=0.05) 0.92 1.16 1.19

DAP = Days after planting; * Significant; GM = Green Manure; VC = Vermicompost

Fig. 1 : Total yield per hectare of brinjal as influenced by different sources of organic maures, and in combination with NPK

treatment has excelled in recording higher number and

yield of fruits per plant and yield per plot. The higher

yield attributes in recommended FYM + NPK may also

be attributed to satisfactory nutrient availability and

increased plant metabolism which ultimately lead to more

carbohydrates accumulation. Besides, there was

increased vegetative growth at peak growth stages of

the crop as observed in the study might have resulted in

efficient production of photosynthates and ultimately

promoted higher yield and yield attributes. Similar

observation on the increase in the fruit yield with high

ratio of both organic and inorganic fertilizers in chilli var.

To

tal

yie

ld p

er

hec

tare

(t/

ha)

60

50

40

30

20

10

0T

1 T

2 T

3 T

4 T

5 T

6 T

7 T

8 T

9 T

10 T

11 T

12

Treatments

T1

– 75 (%) FYM

T2 – 100 (%) FYM

T3 – 125 (%) FYM

T4 – 150 (%) FYM

T5 – 75 (%) FYM through VC

T6 – 100 (%) FYM through VC

T7 – 125 (%) FYM through VC

T8 – 150 (%) FYM through VC

T9 – Recommended (%) FYM

and GM (50% each) +

recommended NPK

T10

– Recommended (%) FYM

and GM

449

[Asian J. Hort., Vol. 5 (2); Dec., 2010] •HIND AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH AND TRAINING INSTITUTE•

KAU cluster was reported by Nair (1988), Chavan et al.

(1997).

Authors’ affiliations:

N.C. NARASE GOWDA, Division of Horticulture,

University of Agricultural Sciences, G.K.V.K.,

BENGALURU (KARNATAKA) INDIA

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A.N. MOHANKUMAR AND N.C. NARASE GOWDA