Effects of different fertilizer sources on growth and yield of broccoli in Chitwan, Nepal

To study the effect of different fertilizer sources on yield, growth and soil organic matter in broccoli, a research was conducted at Agriculture and Forestry University, Chitwan, Nepal from Sep, 2015 to Feb, 2016. The research consisted of ten treatments viz; recommended chemical fertilizer, Farm Yard Manure (FYM), Vermi-compost (VC), Cow urine (CU), Bio organic fertilizer (BOF), (NPK 50%+FYM 50%), (FYM 50% + CU 50%), (FYM 50 % + VC 50%),(FYM 50% + BOF 50%) and {25% (FYM+VC+CU+BOF)} in randomized complete block design replicated three times. The study revealed that the curd yield (10.63 t ha-1), dry matter production (6.34 t ha-1) and leaf area index (5.12) were observed highest at recommended NPK treatment. Among the organic treatments, (FYM 50%+cow urine 50%) combination showed the highest curd yield (7.79 t ha-1), dry matter production (5.49 t ha-1) and leaf area index (4.95). The highest soil organic matter content (2.85 %) was found at (FYM 50%+ VC 50%) treatment and lower (2.06%) was recorded in NPK applied treatment. Thus, the result showed that chemical fertilizer produced the higher yield in first season but the ecological benefits of these fertilizers are relatively less than other organic fertilizers