Comparison of Organic and In-organic Sources of Nutrients in Radish for Higher Productivity and Soil Fertility

Abstract

A field experiment conducted in the semi-arid climate of Achrol aimed to assess the impact of various nutrient sources on radish productivity. The study involved 15 treatment combinations, encompassing five levels of organic manure (control, FYM at 10 t ha-1, FYM at 15 t ha-1, vermicompost at 5 t ha-1, and vermicompost at 7.5 t ha-1) and three levels of inorganic fertilizers (control, 75% of recommended fertilizer dosage, and 100% of recommended fertilizer dosage). The experiment followed a randomized block design with three replications. Among the different treatments, the application of vermicompost at a rate of 7.5 t ha-1 yielded the highest radish crop production at 25.8 t ha-1. Additionally, the roots exhibited increased nitrogen content at 1.52%, phosphorus at 0.56%, and sulfur at 0.23% when vermicompost was applied at 7.5 t ha-1compared to the control. Various growth parameters, such as fresh leaf weight, fresh root weight, average neck thickness, and root diameter, also demonstrated improvements with vermicompost application at 7.5 t ha-1. It's noteworthy that the yield achieved with 7.5 t ha-1 vermicompost was statistically similar to that obtained with 100% of the recommended inorganic fertilizer dosage.