Comparative analysis of manures and fertilizer on okra growth, yield and its economics in Baitadi, Nepal

Embracing organic techniques can minimize environmental impacts and promote practices that enhance soil and ecological health. A field experiment to study, “Comparative Analysis of Manures and Fertilizer on Okra Growth, Yield and its Economics in Baitadi, Nepal” was conducted at Gokuleshwor Agriculture and Animal Science College in 2023. The experiment was laid out in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with 3 replications and 7 treatments. The variety used in this experiment was ‘Arka Anamika’. The treatments used in the experiment were FYM, Goat manure, Poultry manure, Vermicompost, Sesame cake, RDF, and Control (no fertilizer). The fertilizer provided the necessary nitrogen, while the insufficient phosphorus and potassium were supplemented with single super phosphate and muriate of potash, respectively. Results revealed that the application of different fertilizers significantly affected various vegetative and reproductive parameters such as germination days, plant height, stem diameter, number of leaves, number of branches, number of buds, number of open flowers, number of pods, pod’s length, girth of pods, weight of pods and yield. The results obtained were minimum germination days(4.64) for RDF. Maximum plant height(208.43cm), maximum stem diameter(9.4cm), and number of branches(24.27) were obtained by application of poultry manure at 60 DAS. A maximum number of buds, open flowers, and pods were recorded in poultry manure and RDF application at 75 DAS. The maximum length of the pod(12.52cm) in vermicompost and the maximum girth of the pod(1.59cm) in poultry manure were obtained while the maximum wt. of the pod(14.1gm) in sesame cake. The application of poultry manure obtained a maximum yield per hectare(15.51t/ha). Also in the B: C ratio, Poultry manure exhibited higher(2.65) as compared to other treatments. From this study, we can conclude that poultry manure could contribute to the higher yield and overall attributes of okra.