Organic nutrition in amarantus

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Date
2000
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Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture, Vellayani
Abstract
An experiment was conducted 'at the Instructional Farm attached to the College of Agriculture, Vellayani, during November 1998 to February 1999 with objectives to find out the effect of different sources and levels of organic manures on the yield and quality of amaranthus and to assess the optimum quantity of these sources in sustaining the productivity of amaranthus. The experiment consisted of twenty six treatments and three replications laid out in RBD. The organic manures used were coir pith compost, FYM, neem cake, poultry manure and vermicompost. Five levels of these organic manures (50, 75, 100, 125 and 150 per cent of POP) were tried on nitrogen equivalent basis. The results of the study revealed that the growth characters as well as yield were significantly influenced by different levels and sources of organic manures. Regarding growth characters vermicompost, FYM and poultry manure performed well throughout the growth period. Highest level of FYM and vermicompost (150 per cent POP) maintained their superiority at all growth stages regarding plant height, number of leaves, number of branches and LAI. Maximum plant height of 67.22 cm was recorded at 45 DAP by highest level of FYM. Vermicompost @, 25 t ha" (150 per cent of POP) recorded maximum number of leaves (100.78) at 45 DAP but it was on par with highest dose ofFYM. Maximum LA! was noted in the highest dose of FYM and no other treatment was on par with it. High yield was obtained from 100, 125 and 150 per cent levels of FYM, vermicompost, poultry manure and neem cake. All the coir pith compost treatments recorded lower yield than POP. The lowest yield was recorded by lowest dose of coirpith compost. The same trend was obtained in the case of marketable yield also. Higher levels gave better yield in general. Total dry matter production showed an increasing trend with increasing dose of manure. Highest dose of FYM recorded maximum DMP of 11.41, 25.7 and 28.27 g respectively at 15, 30 and 45 DAP. Variation among different organic manures was significant in the case of biomass production also. Through out the growth stages 125 and 150 per cent levels of all manures except coir pith compost recorded superior biomass compared to POP. Vermicompost at highest level (25 t ha-I) recorded maximum biomass during three harvests. Variation was less in the case of NAR and dry matter partitioning at different stages. Quality of amaranthus improved with varIOUS organic manures. Maximum vitamin C content was recorded by highest level of vermicompost. Maximum fibre content was registered by neemcake at 100 per cent level of POP (4.8 t ha-I). Highest dose of poultry manure (25 t ha") gave highest protein content. Vitamin C and protein contents increased with increasing doses of manure. Highest moisture content was noted by highest dose of FYM. In the case of residual nutrients high soil NPK values were registered by higher levels of organic manures irrespective of source. No treatment was inferior to POP with respect to nitrogen content. Uptake of nutrient was poor from all coir pith compost treatments. Uptake of N increased with increasing levels of manures. P uptake was more for FYM treatments. Vermicompost at highest dose (17 5 I ha-I) gave maximum n C ratio
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171642
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