Growth and yield analysis of aloe (Aloe vera L. Burm.f.) under different organic nutrient regimes
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Date
2014
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Department of plantation crops and spices, College of Agriculture, Vellayani
Abstract
The study entitled “Growth and yield analysis of aloe (Aloe vera L. Burm.f.) under different organic nutrient regimes” was carried out during 2012-14 in the Department of Plantation Crops and Spices, College of Agriculture Vellayani, to analyse the effect of different organic manures and biofertilizers on growth, yield and quality of Aloe vera, to assess the relative efficiency of organic manures and biofertilizers as substitutes for inorganic fertilizers and to compare the economics of cultivation of different treatments.
The experiment was laid out in RBD with sixteen treatments and three replications. The treatments included adhoc organic POP recommendation of KAU (2011), NPK dosage followed by commercial growers in Tamil Nadu and different combinations of three organic manures (FYM, neem cake and vermicompost) and biofertilizer as PGPR mix 1 and an absolute control (without manures and fertilizers).
The study showed that, application of 37.5kg N in the form of FYM and.neem cake in 2:1 ratio along with PGPR mix I (T11 - 75 per cent N of FP as [FYM (50 per cent N) + .neem cake (25 per cent N)] + PGPR mix I) was significantly superior in increasing the morphological parameters (plant height, number of leaves, leaf width, thickness and weight) of aloe.
Significantly superior fresh leaf yield (4.74 kg plant-1 year-1) and latex yield (18.91 g plant-1 year-1) was registered by T11. Application of chemical fertilizers (T3) recorded lesser yields compared to organic manure applied plants. Growth analysis carried out at different growth stages also revealed the superiority of T11. Significant improvement in gel quality was noticed for T11 and T14.
Significant improvement in soil quality in terms of nutrient availability and microbial load was obtained by the combined application of organic manures and PGPR mix 1 in which, PGPR mix 1 can be used as N substitute to a maximum level of 25 per cent. Among the sixteen treatments tried, T11 (37.5 kg N/ha in the form of FYM and neem cake in 2:1 ratio along with PGPR mix 1) was the best cost effective treatment (B: C ratio 1.8) for getting highest yield and gel quality in aloe.