Effect of surface soil removal and organic amendment on yield of sesame (Sesamum indicum L.)

Abstract

An experiment was conducted to study the effect of surface soil removal and organic amendment on sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) during Kharif 2018 in the experimental field of Soil and Water Conservation department, School of Agricultural Sciences and Rural Development, Nagaland University, Medziphema campus. A split plot with three replications was designed. Surface soil removal of 0, 5 and 10 cm designated as D0, D1 and D2 were carried out, respectively. The addition of different organic amendments was adopted viz., O0- control, O1- vermicompost @ 3 tonnes ha-1, O2- poultry litter @ 3 tonnes ha-1 and O3- pig manure @ 3 tonnes ha-1. Seed yield was found to be significantly higher under D0 (0.414 t ha-1) whereas, D2 recorded the lowest yield (0.380t ha-1). Application of poultry manure as amendment gave significantly high seed yield (0.431 t ha-1) and lowest yield was reported in O0 (0.356 t ha-1). The interaction between surface soil removal and organic amendment showed the highest yield with D0O2 (0.44 t ha-1) and lowest with D2O0 (0.34 t ha-1). Hence, application of organic amendments in areas where surface soil removal was done helped to improve the growth and yield of sesame.