Evaluation of Different Organic Manure Mixtures in Vegetable Amaranth Cultivation

An investigation was conducted during 2009-2011 at College of Agriculture, Vellayani, to develop bio-organic composite manures containing at least 3%N, with N:K ratio of 1:0.5, and to evaluate the effect of these manures on growth and productivity of vegetables. The investigation comprised three separate experiments, namely, formulation and quality evaluation of bio-organic composite manures, mineralization of bio-organic composite manures, and, crop response study. Amaranth (Amaranthus tricolor) was raised as a test crop for the study. Organic sources used in the preparation of bio-organic composite manures were:coir pith compost, poultry manure, neem cake, ground nut cake, ash, rock dust and microbial consortium. Five composite organic manures, satisfying the selection criteria (3%N, N:K ratio of 1:0.5), were identified for further investigation. Results of the crop response study revealed that among the bio-organic composite manures used, maximum yield was obtained under poultry manure (50g)+ground nut cake(30g)+rock dust(19g)+microbial consortium (1g), and this was on par with (i) coir pith compost(50g)+ground nut cake(35g)+ash(15g), and, (ii) poultry manure (50g)+ground nut cake(30g)+rock dust(20g).