Sustainable agricultural production depends on increasing crop productivity while preserving soil health and reducing environmental risk. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the potential of biochar (10 t ha-1) based organic and inorganic fertilizer for increasing okra productivity through a field experiment conducted in Gajuri, Dhading. A 130 m2 area was divided into six treatment groups, each with four replications, using a Randomized Complete Block Design. The following were the treatments: i) inorganic fertilizer (RF); ii) biochar plus inorganic fertilizer (BF); iii) biochar plus vermicompost (BVC); iv) biochar plus poultry manure (BPM); v) biochar (BC); vi) control; neither biochar nor fertilizer (CK). The recommended rates of urea, di-ammonium phosphate (DAP), and muriate of potash (MOP) were applied to the mineral NPK fertilizers in RF and BF. The rate whereby organic fertilizers were applied was 200 kg N ha-1. Plots treated with biochar and various fertilizer groups were compared in terms of growth and yield efficiency. The BVC treatment was found to exhibit poorer growth performance in terms of plant height, number of leaves, primary branches, and nodes compared to the combination of biochar and poultry manure. Fruit output rose by 170% over CK (7.13 mt ha-1) and by 53.26% over RF (12.58 mt ha-1) after BPM treatment (19.28 mt ha-1). While BF and RF did not significantly differ in terms of growth characteristics, BF outproduced RF by 29% and CK by 126.79% in terms of pod yield. BF and BPM offered greater financial rewards than alternative treatments.

Radish is a widely cultivated root crop susceptible to chemicals for its growth and development. The experiment was conducted to study the effect of different sources of organic fertilizers on growth and yield parameters in the Tokinashi variety of radish. The experiment was laid out using one factorial completely randomized block design with six treatments replicated four times. Vermicompost, goat manure, chemical fertilizers (NPK), poultry manure, farmyard manure and control were the applied treatments. Various growth and yield parameters of radish were measured and assessed at 15-day intervals. Various growth and yield parameters of radish were measured and assessed at 15-day intervals. Growth parameters were observed at 15, 30, 45, and 60 days after sowing. For yield parameters, destructive samples were taken and observed at 30 DAS and 45 DAS and harvested at 60 DAS. The assessments of plant growth and yield parameters showed that poultry manure (PM) treatments were superior. At the time of harvesting, the treatment comprising poultry manure had considerably greater plant height (30.55 cm), leaf length (29.44cm), leaf breadth (10.78cm), leaf number per plant (9.23), root diameter (10.33cm) and root length (20.16cm) with superior yield per ha (33.59 mt ha-1). Poultry manure significantly enhanced root yield and was positively correlated with all growth parameters. The highest benefit-cost (B: C) ratio was recorded in chemical fertilizer (3.99), which was statistically at par with poultry manure (3.81), suggesting that poultry manure might potentially replace chemical fertilizers for the Tokinashi variety of radish cultivation.

The study was designed to asses the residual effect of organic N (Poultry Manure) and mineral N on maize crop in field experiments carried out on silty clay loam soil at NIFA, Tarnab, Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Pakistan during 2014-15. Combined dose of N from both sources were 120 kg ha-1 applied to wheat crop alone and in different combination making six treatments. Maize variety (Azam) was sown in Randomized complete block (RCB) design with four replications. Agronomic data, grains ear-1, 1000 grain weight, biomass grain yield data, N-uptake in maize grain and straw were recorded. Results showed that maximum grain ear−1, 1000 grain weight, biomass and grain yield was obtained from treatment where 25% N applied from poultry manure + 75% from mineral N source applied to previous wheat crop. Agronomic efficiency and nitrogen use efficiency were also found maximum in treatment where 75% poultry manure + 25% mineral N was applied. It was concluded from the study that residual effect of organic manure with mineral N in different ratios enhances crop productivity and soil fertility.