Influence of Integrated Organic, Inorganic and Biological Nutrient Sources with Phytosterols on Fruit Quality of Banana (Musa spp. cv. Poovan)
M. Karunya Bala *
Department of Horticulture, Annamalai University, Chidambaram, India.
M. Rajkumar
Department of Horticulture, Annamalai University, Chidambaram, India.
R. Sureshkumar
Department of Horticulture, Annamalai University, Chidambaram, India.
R. Sendhilnathan
Department of Horticulture, Annamalai University, Chidambaram, India.
S. Ramesh
Department of Agronomy, Annamalai University, Chidambaram, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
A study was carried out to evaluate the influence of integrated organic, inorganic and biological nutrient sources with phytosterols on fruit quality of banana (Musa spp. cv. Poovan). This study is with ten treatments which includes the combination of Bio NPK liquid consortia 5ml per litre with different levels of vermicompost (4kg, 8kg per plant), neem cake (1kg, 2 kg per plant), campesterol and stigmasterol (0.1%, 0.2%) and inorganic fertilizer at three different levels such as (RDF 100%, RDF 75%, RDF 50%) arranged in a randomized block design (RBD) with three replications. The results showed that (T9) 75% RDF + Vermicompost @ 4 kg plant⁻¹ + Neem cake @ 1 kg plant⁻¹ + Bio NPK liquid consortia 5ml per litre + Campesterol & Stigmasterol (SL) @ 0.2% demonstrated superior performance across all parameters such as TSS (23.59 ºBrix), Total sugars (22.39%), Reducing sugars (19.11 %), Non-reducing sugars (3.28%), Ascorbic acid (13.72 100mg per g) with reducing Titrable acidity (0.34 %), Sugar: acid ratio (65.85). T1 - RDF 100% (Control) exhibited the lowest performance.
Keywords: Organic, inorganic, biological nutrient, phytosterols, fruit quality, banana