FERTILIZER MANAGEMENT PRACTICES ON GROWTH AND YIELD OF BOK CHOY

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted at the Horticulture Farm of Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Dhaka 1207, Bangladesh, from December 2021 to February 2022 to find out the effect of organic and inorganic fertilizer managements for the growth and yield of bok choy (Brassica campestris subsp. chinensis). The experiment comprised 9 treatments of different doses of organic and inorganic fertilizer viz., T 1 : 100% Recommended Dose of fertilizer (RDF); T 2 : 90% RDF + 10% Vermicompost; T 3 : 80% RDF + 20% Vermicompost; T 4 : 70% RDF + 30% Vermicompost; T 5 : 60% RDF + 40% Vermicompost; T 6 : 90% RDF + 10% Vermicompost Tea; T 7 : 80% RDF + 20% Vermicompost Tea; T 8 : 70% RDF + 30% Vermicompost Tea; T 9 : 60% RDF + 40% Vermicompost Tea. and experiment was setup in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications. A positive impact of each fertilizer combination was observed on vegetative growth and yield of the crop. Tallest plant, maximum number of leaves per plant, longest leaf, and highest leaf breadth was found from T 9 treatment. Maximum fresh weight with root (157.90 g), fresh weight without root (150.80 g), root length (8.37 cm), root weight (7.17 g), stem diameter (1.32 cm), plant dry weight (9.52 g), dry matter content (6.32 %), moisture content (93.68 %), chroma value (12.54) and yield ha -1 (24.13 t) were found by the application of 60% Recommend fertilizer dose (RDF) with 40% Vermicompost Tea, while the T 2 treatment gave the lowest. Considering the sustainable yield, application of 60% recommended inorganic fertilizer with 40% vermicompost tea seemed to be more promising for bok choy cultivation.