Characterization and evaluation of herbal and non herbal kunapajala on soil health and crop nutrition
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Date
2019
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Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, College of Agriculture, Vellayani
Abstract
The study entitled “Characterization and evaluation of herbal and non-herbal Kunapajala on soil health and crop nutrition” was conducted in the Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, College of Agriculture, Vellayani during 2017-2019. Kunapajala is a traditional organic liquid manure mentioned in Vrikshayurveda and popular among farmers. Few works have been carried out on application of Kunapajala, and characterization has not been studied till date. So, present investigation was undertaken with the objectives to prepare and characterize the herbal and non-herbal Kunapajala, monitor the nutrient release pattern under laboratory conditions and evaluate the efficacy of soil and foliar applications of herbal and non-herbal Kunapajala on soil health and crop nutrition using bhindi as a test crop. The study comprised of three parts. The first part herbal and non- herbal Kunapajala, were prepared as prescribed by Vrikshayurveda. Herbal Kunapajala was prepared by mixing plant leaves (non-milky and non-grazing), cow dung, cow’s urine, sprouted black gram and jaggery in 80 L of water while non- herbal Kunapajala was prepared from fish, bone meal, rice husk, coconut oil cake, sprouted black gram, cow dung, cow’s urine, honey, ghee, jaggery, milk and 85 L of water. Physical properties such as colour and odour of the organic liquid manures were recorded. Herbal and non- herbal Kunapajala were neutral in pH (7.00 and 7.70 respectively) whereas Panchagavya and FAA were in the acidic range as 5.50 and 4.40 respectively. Regarding EC Panchagavya has highest EC (7.30 dSm-1) followed by FAA (3.60 dSm-1). The highest value for organic carbon content was registered by FAA (35.67%). Non-herbal Kunapajala recorded the highest values for K (0.44%), Ca (380 mg L-1), Mg (324 mg L-1), and S (1.8%). Its N and P contents were less than that of Panchagavya and FAA. Kunapajala recorded the highest content of micronutrients compared to FAA and Panchagavya except for total Cu. Non- herbal Kunapajala was found to be rich in Fe (12.3 mg L-1), Mn (1.04 mg L-1), B (4.86 mg L-1). FAA recorded the highest Zn (1.93 mg L-1), content whereas Cu content was the highest in Panchagavya (1.56 mg L-1). Regarding biochemical characteristics, FAA recorded the highest dehydrogenase activity (330.56 μg of TPF g-1 soil 24 h-1), total sugar content (10.25%) and ascorbic acid content (33.65 mg 100ml-1). The maximum population of bacteria was observed in non- herbal Kunapajala while fungal population in FAA, but the population of actinomycetes found to be nil in these liquid manures. The second part of the experiment was conducted to monitor the nutrient release pattern under laboratory conditions for a period of two months. The study was carried out in CRD with 5 treatments and 4 replications. The treatments included were soil + FYM (T1), soil + FYM + 2% herbal Kunapajala (T2), soil + FYM + 2% non- herbal Kunapajala (T3), soil + FYM + 5% herbal Kunapajala (T4) and soil + FYM + 5% non-herbal Kunapajala (T5). All the treatments were maintained at 60% moisture capacity. There was no significant change in pH while an increase in EC was observed throughout the incubation period. The major and minor nutrients released were significantly influenced by the treatments except for Zn and Cu. Treatment that received 5% non-herbal Kunapajala had the highest content of organic carbon, N, P, Ca, Mg, S, B, Fe and Mn while K content was the highest for 5% herbal Kunapajala. Treatment T1 (soil + FYM) recorded the lowest values for nutrient release throughout the incubation period. The third part of the study was a field experiment to evaluate the efficacy of soil and foliar applications of herbal and non-herbal Kunapajala by using bhindi as a test crop. The study was carried out in a randomized block design with 13 treatments replicated thrice. The treatments comprised of KAU POP (T1), Organic Adhoc POP (T2), Organic Adhoc POP + 3% Panchagavya (T3), Organic Adhoc POP + 5% Fish Amino Acids (T4), 50% N as FYM + Water (T5), 50% N as FYM + 2% herbal Kunapajala soil application (T6), 50% N as FYM + 5 % herbal Kunapajala soil application (T7), 50% N as FYM + 2 % non- herbal Kunapajala soil application (T8), 50% N as FYM + 5% non-herbal Kunapajala soil application (T9), 50% N as FYM + 2% herbal Kunapajala foliar application (T10), 50% N as FYM + 5% herbal Kunapajala foliar application (T11), 50% N as FYM + 2% non-herbal Kunapajala foliar application (T12), 50% N as FYM + 5% non- herbal Kunapajala foliar application (T13). Foliar application of 5% non-herbal Kunapajala recorded the highest growth and yield attributes such as plant height (124.4 cm), number of branches (3.73), leaf area index (1.42) , dry matter production (3845.51 kg ha-1), chlorophyll contents, number of fruits per plant (25.5), length of fruits (15.24 cm), girth of fruits (7.22 cm), average fruit weight (20.8 g) and yield (20.78 t ha-1) . The post-harvest analysis of soil revealed that the pH, EC, organic carbon content and nutrients varied significantly among the treatments. The highest N (363.88 kg ha-1), P (100.70 kg ha-1) and K (209.10 kg ha-1) contents were observed in T13 (50% N as FYM+ 5% non-herbal Kunapajala foliar application) which was on par with T12 (50% N as FYM+ 2% non-herbal Kunapajala as foliar application). Treatment T13 recorded highest mean values for all macronutrients, micronutrients and enzymatic activity. The total microbial population viz., bacteria, fungi and actinomycetes were significantly influenced by the treatments and treatment comprising of 5% non-herbal Kunapajala as foliar application along with 50% N as FYM recorded the highest microbial count. Regarding the plant uptake of nutrients, T13 registered the highest plant uptake of N, P, K, Ca, Mg, S, Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, B. The highest B:C ratio of 2.46 was recorded by the treatment T13. From the study, it can be concluded that both herbal and non-herbal Kunapajala contained all the primary, secondary and micronutrients. Among the two types of Kunapajala, non-herbal Kunapajala was found to be superior over the herbal one. The incubation study revealed that the highest nutrient release was noticed in the treatment T5 (soil + FYM + 5% non- herbal Kunapajala). In the field experiment, application of 50% N as FYM + 5% non-herbal Kunapajala as foliar application (T13) was the best treatment which resulted in the highest growth, yield and yield attributes of bhindi but yield was on par with the treatment T12 (50% N as FYM+ 2% non-herbal Kunapajala as foliar application). From the study, it was observed that FYM as nutrient source can be reduced to half, if 2% or 5% non-herbal Kunapajala as foliar spray (at 10 days interval) was applied along with 50% N as FYM. Present study confirmed that Kunapajala is a promising and eco-friendly plant stimulant for sustainable crop production and safe agro ecosystem.
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