Abstract
Turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) is an important commercial crop grown since ancient times because of its aromatic rhizomes mainly used for medicinal, culinary and cosmetic purposes. Turmeric is cultivated nearly throughout Pakistan and Punjab province is a major contributor to turmeric production. Fertilizer rates are great determinants of the yield of turmeric. Therefore, this study was conducted at this standing point on the nutritional requirements (NPK) to produce high turmeric yield and suggest a solid adequate NPK dose for turmeric production following long-term field experiments including confirmatory studies. Thus, in 2009 to 2011, five experiments were performed on farmers' fields, with treatments consisting of five nitrogen levels (0, 60, 120, 180, and 240 Kg ha-1 ), four phosphorus rates (0, 40, 80, and 120 Kg ha-1 ) and three potassium rates (0, 40, and 80 Kg ha-1 ) repeated three times in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) to assess fertilizer requirement. Based on results obtained from 2009 to 2011, two experiments were performed in 2012 with treatments consisting of one nitrogen rate (180 Kg ha 1 ), five phosphorus levels (80, 120, 160, 200, and 240 Kg ha-1 ) and two potassium rates (40 and 80 Kg ha-1 ) with three replications as a confirmatory study-1 to confirm the NPK requirement. In 2013 to 2016, five studies on farmers ' fields were performed with treatments consisting of one nitrogen rate (180 Kg ha-1 ), six phosphorus levels (80, 120, 160, 200, 240, and 280 Kg ha-1 ) and two potassium rates (40 and 80 Kg ha-1 ) with three replicates as a confirmatory studies 2, 3, 4 & 5 to confirm the NPK requirement. The results showed that by applying NPK @180:280:80 Kg ha-1, the maximum significant fresh turmeric rhizome yield was obtained and can be recommended with trust for the farmers. It is also established that phosphorus requirement of the turmeric crop is much higher than that of N and K particularly on the soil deficient in available phosphorus.
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