Effect of Organic Nutrients and Zinc Biofortification on Growth and Yield of Sponge Gourd (Luffa cylindrica L.) CV. Mahy Harita

Agnes Jeba Sheela M *

Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, Annamalai University, Annamalai Nagar, Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu, India.

Anburani A

Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, Annamalai University, Annamalai Nagar, Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu, India.

*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.


Abstract

A field experiment was carried out at Orchard, Department of Horticulture, Annamalai University, Faculty of Agriculture, TamilNadu during 2023-2024. The experiment was laid out in RBD with fifteen treatments in three replications. The organic manures used in the experiment were farm yard manure (25 t ha-1) and enriched manure (1 t ha-1) as soil application along with consortium biofertilizer (2 kg ha-1) and foliar application of biostimulants viz., panchagavya (3%), sea weed extract (3%) and effective microbial inoculants (2%). The zinc in the form of Bacillus subtilis @ 10 and 20g was applied as soil application. The results of the experiment revealed that the growth parameters viz., vine length, number of leaves, leaf length, leaf breadth and leaf area were recorded the highest in the treatment that received the application of farmyard manure 25 t ha-1combined with panchagavya (3%) as foliar application and Bacillus subtilis @ 20g. The yield attributes viz., the highest number of fruits plant-1, fruit length, fruit girth, fruit weight, fruit yield plant-1 and the zinc uptake in fruit were registered in the treatment which received the application of enriched manure @1 t ha1 combined with panchagavya (3%) as foliar application and Bacillus subtilis @ 20g (T11) respectively.

Keywords: Organic manures, biostimulants, growth parameters, yield parameters, zinc, biofortification


How to Cite

M, Agnes Jeba Sheela, and Anburani A. 2024. “Effect of Organic Nutrients and Zinc Biofortification on Growth and Yield of Sponge Gourd (Luffa Cylindrica L.) CV. Mahy Harita”. International Journal of Plant & Soil Science 36 (11):254-61. https://doi.org/10.9734/ijpss/2024/v36i115140.