Fertilizers including organic and inorganic are very crucial for providing the essential nutrients to plants to enhance the agricultural productivity. Organic manure and bio-fertilizers are environmental eco-friendly materials for better yield and better soil health. A field experiment was conducted during rabi (winter) season of 2016-2017 at Horticultural Research Centre, Department of Horticulture, Chauras Campus, HNB Garhwal University, Srinagar Garhwal, Uttarakhand to assess the effectiveness of combined dose of organic manure and fertilizer on Knol-khol (Brassica oleracea var. gongylodes) vegetable crop. The study involved twenty treatments with control (T0): RDF 100% (T1), RDF 50% (T2), Azosprillum (T3), Azotobacter (T4), Neem cake (T5), Chicken manure (T6), RDF 75% + Azosprillum (T7), RDF 75% + Azotobacter (T8), RDF 75% + Neem cake (T9), RDF 75% + Chicken manure (T10), RDF 50% + Azosprillum (T11), RDF 50% + Azotobacter (T12), RDF 50% + Neem cake (T13), RDF 50% + Chicken manure (T14), Azosprillum + Azotobacter (T15), Azosprillum + Neem cake (T16), Azosprillum + Chicken manure (T17), Azotobacter + Neem cake (T18), Azotobacter + Chicken manure (T19) and Neem cake + Chicken manure (T20). The findings showed that, the treatment T7 (RDF 75% + Azosprillum) is more efficient over other treatments. The maximum yield was found (61.83%) in treatment T7 (RDF 75% + Azosprillum) as compared to control (T0). Different fertilizer- use efficiencies were significantly improved with the application of organic, inorganic and bio-fertilizer over control as well as chemical fertilizer alone. The treatment T7 (RDF 75% + Azosprillum) showed maximum nutrient use efficiency followed by other treatments and the minimum value was quantified in T2 (RDF 50%) > T1 (RDF 100%) > T17 (Azosprillum + Chicken manure) > T15 (Azosprillum + Azotobacter) > T5 (Neem cake) and T0 (control). Study concluded that the combination of organic manure and bio-fertilizer improved the growth and yield of Knol-khol (Brassica oleracea var. gongylodes) plant. Therefore, the application of organic manure and bio fertilizers are recommended to better crop production. In which the combined dose of organic manure and bio fertilizer are most effective for eco-friendly crops production and soil health.
Key words: Bio fertilizer; efficiency of organic manures and bio-fertilizer; growth and yield; eco-friendly crop production.
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