Impact of fermented organic formulations combined with inorganic fertilizers on broccoli (Brassica oleracea L. var. italica Plenck) cv. Palam Samridhi

Shraddha; Y R Shukla; Kuldeep Thakur; Rohit Kumar Vashishat; Subhash Sharma; Rajeshwar Singh Chandel; Sunil Dhingra; Tabish Alam; Rohit Khargotra; Kumari Jyoti

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e20321

Impact of fermented organic formulations combined with inorganic fertilizers on broccoli (Brassica oleracea L. var. italica Plenck) cv. Palam Samridhi

Heliyon. 2023 Sep 20;9(9):e20321. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e20321. eCollection 2023 Sep.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Vegetable Science, College of Horticulture, Dr. YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Solan, Himachal Pradesh, India.
² Department of Social Sciences, College of Forestry, Dr. YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Solan, Himachal Pradesh, India.
³ Department of Entomology, College of Horticulture, Dr. YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Solan, Himachal Pradesh, India.
⁴ Department of Mechanical Engineering, U.I.E.T., Kurukshetra University, 136119, India.
⁵ Architecture, Planning and Energy Efficiency Group, CSIR-Central Building Research Institute, Roorkee, 247667, India.
⁶ Institute of Materials Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Pannonia, Veszprem, 8200, Hungary.
⁷ Department of Biotechnology, Govind Ballabh Pant Engineering College, Pauri, Garhwal, Uttarakhand, 246194, India.

Abstract

A two-year field experiment (2018-19 and 2019-20) was laid out in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with a spacing of 60 × 45 cm involving three replications with ten treatments having cow manurial amendments along with integrated nutrient management in a plot size of 3.0 m × 1.8 m. The effect of the integration of cow manurial amendments and mineral fertilizers on soil fertility, nutrient uptake, yield, and economics of broccoli was studied. The experiment was laid out during the rabi season in the mid-hills of Himachal Pradesh. T₈ [90% RDN (112.5 N: 67.5 P: 46.8 K kg/ha) + 5% jeevamrit (1.5 l/m2) + 5% jeevamrit foliar spray] obtained the greatest organic carbon (20.93 g kg^-1), available N (375.13 kg ha^-1), P (48.46 kg ha^-1), K (260.53 kg ha^-1) in the soil as well as more uptake of N (60.58 kg ha^-1), P (7.25 kg ha^-1) and K (37.88 g ha^-1) by the plants. Further, this treatment obtained the greatest value for yield (186.77 q ha^-1 and 12.44 kg plot^-1), net income (₹ 245840) and cost-benefit ratio (1.93). Outcomes of this investigation suggested that combined usage of cow manure, jeevamrit, beejamrit, and ghanjeevamrit with inorganic fertilizers proved to be useful for enhancing soil health, increasing nutrient uptake, and ensuring sustainable production of broccoli.

Keywords: Beejamrit; Broccoli; Ghanjeevamrit; Jeevamrit; Nutrient uptake; Soil fertility.