Influence of organic nutrient management and variety on the productivity and quality of turmeric at the foothills of Eastern Himalayas

Abstract

Field experiment was conducted with an objective to increase the productivity and quality of turmeric through organic management and variety during the year 2017-18 to 2019-20 in FRBD with four replications. The college is perched on the picturesque bank of river Siang at the foothills of Eastern Himalayas. Geographically it is located at latitude 28°06’N, longitude 93°32’E and altitude of 153 m MSL, hailing to the subtropical hot humid climatic condition and is one of the major production belts of turmeric. The soil type of the experimental field is sandy loam with pH value of 5.3. Result of the three years of experimention as well as pooled mean indicated significantly taller plant, higher fresh weight of clump and yield per hectare with the treatment of organic package developed by IISR (GRB 35 capsule, FYM @ 20t/ha, Neem cake @ 2t/ha, Vermicompost @ 2t/ ha, Ash @ 0.5t/ha and IISR turmeric booster micronutrient @ 5g/litre) as compared to recommended package of SAU (FYM @ 25t/ha and Vermicompost @ 5t/ha). Other characters such as number of tillers/plant, days to 80% maturity and dry recovery under study could not be significantly influenced by the treatments. Among the three varieties considered, the variety NDH 98 recorded significantly taller plant, higher fresh weight of clump, yield per hectare and maximum number of days to attain 80% maturity during the three years of investigation and also the pooled mean. However, the dry recovery and number of tillers were higher in variety Prathibha compared to variety NDH 98 and Megha Turmeric-1 but remained at par with the variety NDH-98 in case of numbers of tillers. The significantly highest curcumin content was recorded in the variety Megha Turmeric 1. Application of different organic treatments could not remarkably enhance the quality parameters considered.