Effect of integrated nutrient management on growth, yield and quality of turmeric under Nagaland conditions

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted in two consecutive years during 2013 and 2014 to evaluate the effect of integrated nutrient management on growth, yield and quality of turmeric under Nagaland conditions. Eighteen treatments which include, inorganic fertilizers, organic manures and biofertilizers alone or in combination were included in the experiment. Results revealed that application of different levels of fertilizers, organic manures and Azospirillum either alone or in combination significantly increased growth, yield and quality of turmeric as compared to control. The maximum plant height (83.22 cm), number of leaves plant-1(10.45), leaf area (905.73 cm2), number of tillers clump-1 (3.22), chlorophyll content (0.97 mg g-1 fresh weight), number of primary fingers clump-1(8.50), number of secondary fingers clump-1(19.50), fresh rhizome yield (48.06 t ha-1), cured rhizome yield (8.22 t ha-1) and curcumin content (6.68%) were recorded in the integrated application of 50% NPK + 50% poultry manure + Azospirillum (T17). Maximum uptake of nitrogen (182.25 kg ha-1), phosphorus (50.80 kg ha-1) and potassium (283.98 kg ha-1) were also observed in the same treatment combination. Thus, integrated application of 50% NPK + 50% poultry manure + Azospirillum was found to be the best treatment combination for obtaining higher yield with quality turmeric.