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Fernando KMC* and Ekanayake EMUI
Department of Crop Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Ruhuna, Mapalana, Kamburupitiya 81100, Sri Lanka
Abstract
Integrated plant nutrient management is one of the key components of sustainable agriculture. It reduces the cost
of production while enhancing the revenue of growers. The present study was conducted to examine the effect of
sole and combine applications of inorganic fertilizer and organic fertilizers on plant growth, foliage senescence
and rhizome yield of turmeric (Curcuma domestica L.) in container gardening. Eight treatments comprise sole
applications of different types of organic fertilizers including vermicompost, compost and matured cow dung, and
inorganic fertilizer schedule recommended by the Department of Export Agriculture, Sri Lanka together with
combinations of inorganic and organic fertilizers. Sand: topsoil: partially burned paddy husk (1:1:1 v/v) were
used to fill the black plastic pots with 30 cm in diameter. Due to the variation of shade of the experimental site, the
experiment was setup as a randomized complete block design with three replicates. The number of leaves per
shoot, leaf length (cm), leaf width (cm), height of the pseudo stem (cm), number of shoots per pot were taken five
months after planting while the number of primary fingers/clump, number of secondary fingers/clump, fresh and
dry weight of rhizomes/pot (g) were taken at harvest. Foliage senescence as visual senescence score was recorded
from 32 weeks after plant establishment until foliage became dry. All measured quantitative parameters were
significantly different between treatments, where the greater values were recorded when plants were treated with
equal proportions of inorganic fertilizer and vermicompost as an organic fertilizer while the foliage senescence
took a longer period in the same treatment when compared to other treatments. This might be due continuous
supply of nutrients through an integrated approach of nutrient management and modification of physical and
microbiological properties of the growth substrate by vermicompost application. Poor plant growth, early
senescence and low fresh and dry yield of rhizomes were reported when plants were grown without inorganic or
organic fertilizers may be due to an insufficient supply of nutrients to fulfil the demand of plant growth and
development. Combine application of vermicompost and inorganic fertilizer could be considered as a promising
combination of fertilizers for the growth and yield of turmeric under integrated plant nutrient management.
Keywords:
Compost, Integrated plant nutrient management, Inorganic fertilizer, Matured cow dung, Turmeric, Vermicompost
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