Acharya Nischal, Vista Shree Prasad, Pandit Naba Raj, Bhattarai Sovika, Dahal Biplov
Department of Agriculture, Himalayan College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (affiliated to Purbanchal University), Kirtipur, Kathmandu, 44600, Nepal.
National Soil Science Research Center (NSSRC), Nepal Agricultural Research Council (NARC), Khumaltar, Lalitpur, 44705, Nepal.
Heliyon. 2024 Jul 10;10(14):e34351. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e34351. eCollection 2024 Jul 30.
Organic based fertilizers is crucial for maintaining soil fertility, increasing crop production, and mitigating climate change. Among various organic fertilizers, vermicompost (VC) has been found to be one of the promising options for enhancing soil fertility and productivity. However, there are limited studies on the agronomic effects of vermicomposts in Nepal. In this study, a pot culture experiment was conducted inside a greenhouse to assess the agronomic and economic effects of four different commercially available vermicomposts, available in both reduced and original moisture forms, on okra. Nine treatments with three replications were arranged in a completely randomized design (CRD). These treatments included Divya vermicompost with both reduced (DvRM: 28.82 %) and original moisture (DvOM: 62.17 %); Praramva vermicompost with reduced (PvRM: 29.63 %) and original moisture (PvOM: 54.65 %), Bio-Comp vermicompost with reduced (BvRM: 26.75 %) and original moisture (BvOM: 49.77 %), Sathi vermicompost with reduced (SvRM: 28.52 %) and original moisture (SvOM: 65.18 %), and a control (CK: non-fertilized treatment). All VC treatments, whether in reduced or original moisture forms, showed better performance on plant growth parameters and fruit yield compared to the control. There was no significant difference between the four types of VCs, in either moisture form. The average number of fruits per pot in VC treatments (ranging from 5.5 to 8.0 fruits per pot) increased by 94 % compared to CK (3.5 fruits). Similarly, total fruit yield increased by 126 % in VC treatments (ranging from 16213 kg ha to 23193 kg ha) compared to the CK (8260 kg ha). The benefit to cost ratio (B:C) of all the VCs was above 1 (B:C > 1), ranging from 1.00 to 1.59, illustrating the economic benefit of using vermicompost in okra cultivation. The findings suggest that farmers should consider the widespread use of vermicomposts to increase both crop productivity and farm profitability, thereby sustaining their livelihoods.
有机肥料对于维持土壤肥力、提高作物产量和缓解气候变化至关重要。在各种有机肥料中，蚯蚓堆肥（VC）已被发现是提高土壤肥力和生产力的有前景的选择之一。然而，关于尼泊尔蚯蚓堆肥农艺效应的研究有限。在本研究中，在温室中进行了盆栽试验，以评估四种不同的市售蚯蚓堆肥（以减少水分和原始水分两种形式提供）对秋葵的农艺和经济效应。采用完全随机设计（CRD）安排了9个处理，每个处理重复3次。这些处理包括水分减少的Divya蚯蚓堆肥（DvRM：28.82%）和原始水分的Divya蚯蚓堆肥（DvOM：62.17%）；水分减少的Praramva蚯蚓堆肥（PvRM：29.63%）和原始水分的Praramva蚯蚓堆肥（PvOM：54.65%）；水分减少的Bio-Comp蚯蚓堆肥（BvRM：26.75%）和原始水分的Bio-Comp蚯蚓堆肥（BvOM：49.77%）；水分减少的Sathi蚯蚓堆肥（SvRM：28.52%）和原始水分的Sathi蚯蚓堆肥（SvOM：65.18%），以及一个对照（CK：不施肥处理）。所有蚯蚓堆肥处理，无论是减少水分形式还是原始水分形式，与对照相比，在植物生长参数和果实产量方面都表现出更好的性能。两种水分形式的四种蚯蚓堆肥之间没有显著差异。蚯蚓堆肥处理中每盆果实的平均数量（每盆5.5至8.0个果实）与对照（3.5个果实）相比增加了94%。同样，蚯蚓堆肥处理中的总果实产量（16213 kg/ha至23193 kg/ha）与对照（8260 kg/ha）相比增加了126%。所有蚯蚓堆肥的效益成本比（B:C）均高于1（B:C>1），范围为1.00至1.59，表明在秋葵种植中使用蚯蚓堆肥的经济效益。研究结果表明，农民应考虑广泛使用蚯蚓堆肥，以提高作物生产力和农场盈利能力，从而维持生计。
