Study on the growth, yield and soil nutrient status of broccoli (brassica oleraceae var. italica) under organic nutrient management

The study was conducted in farmers' field at Manohora, Bhaktapur during 2012-13 to study the effect of different organic manures on growth and yield of broccoli var. Centauroand on soil nutrient status. There were seven treatments replicated thrice laid out in Randomized Block Design. Treatments applied were FYM @ 20 ton/ha (T1), Compost @ 6.66 ton/ha (T2), Vermicompost @ 4 ton/ha (T3), Poultry manure@ 2 ton/ha (T4), FYM+PM @ (10 ton FYM + 1 ton PM)/ha (T5), FYM+VC @ (10 ton FYM + 2 ton VC)/ha (T6) and control (T7). The treatments were applied as basal application of fertilizer in this experiment. The result revealed significant differences in yield per plant, yield per plot, and yield per hectare among treatments. The highest yield per plant (803.33 gm/plant), yield per plot (9.64 kg/plot) and yield per ha (24.1 ton/ha) was observed in treatment T4 whereas lowest yield was recorded from T7. It was found that there were significant differences in plant height and canopy area between the treatments. However, tallest plant height (46.83 cm) and highest canopy area (47.62 cm) was recorded from T4 and the lowest value in both from T7. Number of green leaves per plant was significantly influenced by the applied manures. Maximum number of green leaves (10.25) was recorded in T5. Applied treatments influenced significantly in soil nutrient status after harvesting the crop. Maximum pH value (7.15) and maximum OM % (3.99 %) in soil after harvesting the crop was obtained in T1. Similarly, the highest available nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium was obtained from plots treated with poultry manure.