S21 - Session P1 - Effect of different organic manures with graded levels of inorganic fertilisers on banana cv. Poovan

Authors: Jeyabaskaran Kandallu Jayaraman *, Anitha Sree T, Uma S

The Indian tropical and sub-tropical edaphic conditions do not support rapid switching of conventional way of banana cultivation, over to organic farming system. But the soil may gradually be adapted for organic farming through increasing organic and decreasing inorganic sources of nutrients, under integrated nutrient management system (INMS). While standardising this strategy for banana cv. Poovan, under a field experimentation with split plot design at ICAR-National Research Centre for Banana (India), it was learnt that the mean effects of different organic manures integrated with graded levels of inorganic fertilisers on bunch weight were in the order of Poultry Manure (PM) = Rice Husk Ash (RHA) > Sugarcane Pressmud (SP) > Farm Yard Manure (FYM) > control (only inorganic). The lowest bunch weight (12.8kg) was recorded at only 40% of Recommended Dose of NPK (RDNPK) supplied as a combination of Urea (U), Single Super Phosphate(SSP) and Muriate of Potash (MOP). The highest bunch weight (21.7kg) was recorded at 80% of RDNPK (as U+SSP+MOP) + 15kg of either RHA or PM per plant. About 20% of RDNPK (as U+SSP+MOP) could be eliminated or saved by adding either 15kg of RHA or PM per plant. Application of 15kg PM per plant recorded the highest mean plant growth parameters like pseudostem height (237.9cm), pseudostem girth (60.8cm), total number of leaves (31.6 nos.), total leaf area (10.1 m 2 ), irrespective of graded levels of inorganic fertilisers. The PM application also recorded the highest mean leaf N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Fe, Cu, Mn and Zn concentrations at the time of flowering, irrespective of inorganic fertiliser levels. The highest mean soil organic carbon content (1.44%) was recorded with FYM application and the lowest (0.97%) was observed at control. The PM application recorded the highest mean soil K (618ppm) while RHA application recorded 550ppm. The organic manures used were very efficient in lowering down the Na content of soil in the root zone. The lowest mean soil Na content (528ppm) was observed with PM application and the highest (612ppm) was at control. The PM application recorded the highest mean soil Ca content (0.71%) and the lowest soil Mg content (0.10%) in the root zone. The PM was found to be highly suitable for banana cultivation, when compared to other organic manures. The economics of banana cultivation with the usage of these organic manures were worked out and discussed in this paper elaborately.