INFLUENCE OF ORGANIC AMENDMENTS AND FERTIGATION ON SOIL PROPERTIES AND PERFORMANCE OF WATERMELON (Citrullus lanatus Thunb.)
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Authors
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M. PARAMASIVAN* and N. SENTHIL KUMAR
Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry Agricultural College and Research Institute, Tamilnadu Agricultural University, Vallanad-628 252
Keywords:
Watermelon, organic amendments, fertigationAbstract
Effect of soil amendments with the recommended dose of fertilizers on soil properties growth and yield of
watermelon in Theri soil (red sand dunes) was studied during the years 2017 and 2018. The experiment was
laid out in Randomized Block Design with Factorial concept (FRBD) with two factors viz., soil amendments
and nutrients. A total of 18 treatments including three amendments and six nutrients level and application
methods were replicated thrice. Among the treatment combinations, the tank silt application @ 100 t ha-1
along with 100 per cent recommended dose of fertilizers (200:100:100 kg of NPK ha-1) through fertigation at
seven days interval (A1N5) produced maximum number of branches (10.7), longest vine (362.0 cm), number of
fruits plant-1 (2.6), weight of fruit (5.3 kg) and highest fruit yield (68.8 t ha-1) with a gross returns of 4,09,320
ha-1, benefit-cost ratio of 2.45 and uptake of N, P and K as 39.79 kg ha-1, 4.04 kg ha-1 and 30.49 kg ha-1,
respectively compared to other treatments. Significant build up of organic carbon (0.52%), available N (253 kg
ha-1 ), P (16 kg ha-1) and K (218 kg ha-1) were recorded with the application of tank silt @ 100 t ha-1 with 100 per
cent recommended fertilizer (200:100:100 kg of NPK ha-1 ) through fertigation at seven days interval (A1N5).
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