GROWTH AND YIELD OF KOHLRABI AS INFLUENCED BY ORGANIC AND CHEMICAL SOURCES OF POTASSIUM AND SEEDLING AGE AT TRANSPLANT

A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Agriculture, Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Dhaka, In Partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE IN HORTICULTURE

The experiment was carried out at the “Horticulture Farm” of Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Dhaka, Bangladesh during October 2019 to January 2020 to study the effect of different organic and chemical sources of potassium and seedling age at transplant on growth and yield of kohlrabi. The experiment consisted of two factors. Factor A: Four organic and chemical sources of potassium viz., K = 100% vermicompost, K 2 = 50% MoP + 50% vermicompost, K = 50% MoP + 50% mushroom spent compost and K 4 3 = 50% vermicompost + 50% mushroom spent compost and Factor B: Three seedling ages viz., S 1 = 20 days age of seedlings, S = 25 days age of seedlings and S 3 2 = 30 days age of seedlings. The experiment was laid out in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications. Data were recorded on growth, yield components and yield of kohlrabi and significant variation was observed for most of the studied characters. Under this investigation, it was revealed that the highest yield (38.44 t ha -1 ) with net return (Tk. 200,800) and BCR (2.09) was obtained from the treatment combination K 2 S (50% MoP + 50% vermicompost + 25 days age of seedlings). On the other hand, the lowest yield (19.78 t ha 2 -1 ) with net return (Tk. 55,000) and BCR (1.39) was obtained from the treatment combination of K (100% vermicompost + 20 days age of seedlings). So, economic analysis revealed that the K treatment combination appeared to be best for achieving the higher growth, yield and economic benefit of kohlrabi.