Ecology, Environment and Conservation Paper

UTILISATION OF ORGANIC AND INORGANIC NUTRIENT SOURCES FOR SUSTAINABLE VEGETABLE PRODUCTION

Ravneet Kour, Munish Sharma, R.S. Bandral and Amitesh Sharma

Abstract

The studies were conducted on nutrient management practices in knol-khol and cucumber crops using chemical and organic nutrient sources in the years 2011 & 2012. Knol khol recorded highest yield (432.33 q/ha) with vermicompost 5t/ha +½NPK treatment followed by FYM 10t/ha+ ½NPK .Cucumber also responded well to integrated nutrient management treatment of vermicompost 5 t/ha + ½ NPK with yield of (208.38 q/ha) but it also yielded enough with application of FYM 10t/ha + ½ NPK. Vermicompost in combination with chemical fertilizers did excellent both in knol khol and cucumber. However, application of FYM and vermicompost alone were also good but dose of vermicompost needs to be increased. The investigation revealed that integrated use of nutrient source was superior in application to chemical fertilizers alone. The study indicated good potential to grow these vegetables organically and better utilization of natural resources for sustainable agriculture production which otherwise go waste. Further research is needed to optimize dose and use of different organic nutrient sources so that higher yields may be obtained. The recycling of organic sources also maintain soil health and therefore help in sustainable production.