Vol. 10, Issue 9 (2021)

Author(s):
Bagathi Ganesh and Hina Upadhyay

Abstract:
A field experiment entitled “Response of integrated nutrient management on growth and yield attributes of Baby Corn [Zea mays (L)]” was conducted at the experimental farm of School of Agriculture, Lovely Professional University. The study's objective was to evaluate the influence of plant nutrient application through organic manures and inorganic fertilizer on growth, yield and economics of baby corn production. The overall experiment was laid out in Randomized Block Design (RBD) with three replications and ten treatments comprising of chemical fertilizers, organic manure, and their combinations viz., T_Control, T_{100% RDF}, T_{100% FYM}, T_{100% Vermicompost}, T_{75% RDF + 25% FYM}, T_{75% RDF + 25% Vermicompost}, T_{75% RDF + 12.5% FYM + 12.5% Vermicompost}, T_{50% RDF + 50% FYM}, T_{50% RDF + 50% Vermicompost}, T_{50% RDF + 25% FYM + 25% Vermicompost}. The results revealed that T_{100% RDF} showed the maximum growth followed by T_{75% RDF + 25% Vermicompost}. The yield attributes viz., no. of cobs per plant, girth of baby corn, length of baby corn, cob wt with husk, cob wt without husk was increased significantly in T_{75% RDF + 25% Vermicompost} (183.45%, 134.43%, 46.2%, 48.66%, 77.47%) followed by T_{100% RDF} (150.37%, 100.66%, 38.44%, 37.99%, 68.36%) as compared to T_control. The higher yield attributes of baby corn is mainly due to the combined application of organic manures and inorganic fertilizer.