Articles
STUDIES ON ORGANIC PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY OF ANNUAL DRUMSTICK IN A SEMI-ARID AGRO-ECOSYSTEM
Article number
752_59
Pages
345 – 348
Language
English
Abstract
Moringa oleifera Lam. (Drumstick) is the most widely known and utilized species of the family Moringaceae.
India is the largest producer of this nutritionally rich, fast growing, drought tolerant, hardy crop capable of getting adapted to varied ecosystems.
It can fit very well as a candidate crop for organic cultivation.
Hence, the present investigation was carried out to study the performance of annual drumstick (cv.
PKM-1) under organic culture for three consecutive years from July 2003 on red sandy loam soil of Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Bangalore.
Five organic nutrient treatments and one conventional nutrient supply as check were compared.
The crop was raised with protective irrigation and warranted plant protection measures were adopted using biopesticides.
The results showed that the crop performance with respect to tree growth, yield and yield components were significantly influenced by organic treatments tested.
Tree trunk diameter was higher with farm yard manure (FYM) applied at 15 kg/tree or with vermi compost applied at 5 kg/tree along with biofertilizers (Azospirillum and phosphate solubilizing bacteria) at 5 kg/hectare as compared to other organic treatments such as green leaf manuring combinations or reduced FYM application rates.
Similar trend was noticed with respect to fresh pod yields which was higher (9.7 t/ha /year) with treatments receiving higher dose of FYM followed by green leaf manuring supplemented with rock phosphate and wood ash (8.5 t/ha/year). These yields were on par with conventional treatment receiving recommended dose of chemical fertilizers and manures (8.6 t/ha/year). The higher yields were mainly due to higher number of pods produced per tree rather than fruit size.
It can be concluded that organic drumstick production is feasible and is sustainable economically as well as socially in the present context of reducing pollution of natural resources and cost of farm production.
India is the largest producer of this nutritionally rich, fast growing, drought tolerant, hardy crop capable of getting adapted to varied ecosystems.
It can fit very well as a candidate crop for organic cultivation.
Hence, the present investigation was carried out to study the performance of annual drumstick (cv.
PKM-1) under organic culture for three consecutive years from July 2003 on red sandy loam soil of Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Bangalore.
Five organic nutrient treatments and one conventional nutrient supply as check were compared.
The crop was raised with protective irrigation and warranted plant protection measures were adopted using biopesticides.
The results showed that the crop performance with respect to tree growth, yield and yield components were significantly influenced by organic treatments tested.
Tree trunk diameter was higher with farm yard manure (FYM) applied at 15 kg/tree or with vermi compost applied at 5 kg/tree along with biofertilizers (Azospirillum and phosphate solubilizing bacteria) at 5 kg/hectare as compared to other organic treatments such as green leaf manuring combinations or reduced FYM application rates.
Similar trend was noticed with respect to fresh pod yields which was higher (9.7 t/ha /year) with treatments receiving higher dose of FYM followed by green leaf manuring supplemented with rock phosphate and wood ash (8.5 t/ha/year). These yields were on par with conventional treatment receiving recommended dose of chemical fertilizers and manures (8.6 t/ha/year). The higher yields were mainly due to higher number of pods produced per tree rather than fruit size.
It can be concluded that organic drumstick production is feasible and is sustainable economically as well as socially in the present context of reducing pollution of natural resources and cost of farm production.
Authors
M. Prabhakar, S.S. Hebbar
Keywords
Moringa oleifera, FYM, vermin compost, biofertilizers, growth, yield
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