Effect of integrated nutrient management on the yield parameters of bottle gourd [Lagenaria siceraria (Mol.) standl.

Abstract

The investigation on effect of integrated nutrient management on the yield parameters of bottle gourd [Lagenaria siceraria (Mol.) Standl.] was carried out at the Horticultural Research farm, Department of Horticulture, Chaudhary Charan Singh University Campus, Meerut (U.P) during spring season of 2015. The experimental field was laid out in randomized block design (RBD) with three replications. The experiment comprised of eight treatments consisting of different organic and inorganic fertilizers i.e. T1 Control (no fertilizers), T2 RDF (80N: 60P: 50K kg/ha), T3 (FYM @ 20 tonnes/ha), T4 (RDF 60% + FYM @ 10 tonnes/ha), T5 (Neem Cake 2 q/ha), T6 (RDF 60% + Neem Cake @ 1 q/ha), T7 (Vermicompost @ 6 tonnes/ha) and T8 (RDF 60% + Vermicompost @ 3 tonnes/ha). All variables parameters regarding yield attributes were significantly influenced by different combinations of integrated nutrient management. Result indicated that combined application of inorganic and organic fertilizers i.e. RDF 60% + Vermicompost @ 3 tonnes/ha gave the significantly highest response. Maximum fruit diameter (10.19 cm), fruit length (40.92 cm), number of fruits per vine (16.63), average fruit weight (813.94 g), and fruit yield (246.10 q/ha) were recorded with the soil application of RDF 60% + Vermicompost @ 3 tonnes/ha followed by RDF 60% + FYM @ 10 tonnes/ha.