Integrated Nutrient Management in Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.)

Abstract

Background: Importance of Integrated nutrient management through recycling of organic sources of wastes and renewable sources of bio-fertilizers are gaining popularity due to rising cost of energy and limited input availability. The current study aimed to investigate the combined effects of inorganic fertilizer, organic manures and bio-fertilizers (INM) on growth and productivity of sunflower. Methods: This experiment comprised of ten treatments which includes farm yard manure (FYM @ 10 t/ha, FYM @ 5 t/ha), Vermicompost (VC @ 5 t/ha, VC @ 2.5 t/ha), Bio-fertilizers (PSB, AZ), foliar spray NPK 19:19:19. Result: Maximum seed yield of 2.48 t/ha and 2.41 t/ha were obtained by the treatments T10 and T6 respectively.The physiological trait like CGR (3.216 and 3.210 g/day/plant) also recorded significantly higher values for the treatments T10 and T6 than all other treatments. It was also found that among organic manures, vermicompost at 5 t/ha produced higher seed yield than FYM at 10 t/ha. From this investigation, treatment T10 (VC @ 2.5 t/ha + PSB + AZ + 50% RDF + foliar spray) could be recommended to the farmers for sunflower cultivation. In case of acute shortage of vermicompost, farmers can go for treatment T6 (FYM @ 5 t/ha + PSB + AZ + 50% RDF + foliar spray) as this could be eco-friendly since chemical load to the environment has been 50% curtailed.