Enhancing Growth and Flowering through Integrated Nutrient Management (INM) in Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) cv. Bhagwa during Ambe bahar
Ranjith. R. K *
Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, Annamalai University, Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu, India.
Rajeswari. R
Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, Annamalai University, Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
The study was carried out on pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) cv. Bhagwa to investigate the efficacy of integrated nutrient management on growth and flowering attributes during the Ambe bahar season of 2023-24. The present investigation was laid out in Randomized Block Design with three replications consisting of eleven treatments using different inorganic and organic nutrient sources viz., RDF (625:250:250g NPK per tree), poultry manure, bio NPK consortium, bio-stimulants (Seaweed extract and Humic acid) and micronutrient mix. The results revealed that maximum increase in plant height (35.33 cm), increase in plant spread E-W (23.56 cm), increase in plant spread N-S (20.98 cm), increase in canopy volume (1.58 m3), minimum days taken for flower bud initiation (27.61 days), highest percentage of male flowers (48.41%) and percentage of hermaphrodite flowers (45.81%) was recorded in treatment of trees with 75% RDF + Poultry manure @ 10 kg tree-1 + Bio NPK consortium @ 10 ml tree-1 + Bio-stimulants (foliar spray of seaweed extract @ 0.3% and humic acid @ 0.2%) + Micronutrient foliar spray @ 1 %. The findings suggest that optimized nutrient scheduling through integrated use of RDF, organic manures, biofertilizers, bio-stimulants and micronutrients enhances vegetative growth and flowering performance of pomegranate cv. Bhagwa.
Keywords: Pomegranate, Ambe bahar, organic, biofertilizers, bio-stimulants, seaweed extract, humic acid, poultry manure