Effects of vermicompost and compost on soil properties and growth and yield of kalmi (ipomoea aquatica forsk.) In mixed soil

Abstract

An incubation study was conducted to find out the best mixing ratio of acid
and calcareous soil (maintaining 70% moisture) for pot experiment. Depending
on various physico-chemical properties mixed soil 1 : 1 (i.e. acid : calcareous)
was selected for pot experiment. The pot experiment was carried out to observe
the effects of vermicompost and compost on soil properties and growth and
yield of Kalmi (Ipomoea aquatica Forsk.). This experiment included seven
treatments with three replications including control. Treatment variables were
T0 (control), T1 (4 t/ha vermicompost), T2 (8 t/ha vermicompost), T3 (12 t/ha
vermicompost), T4 (4 t/ha compost), T5 (8 t/ha compost) and T6 (12 t/ha compost).
All the treatments had significant positive effects over control on growth and
yield of kalmi. The highest growth and yield were recorded with T3 (12 t/ha
vermicompost) treatment. In case of, macro and micronutrient uptake treatment
T3 (12 t/ha vermicompost) performed best followed by T6 (12 t/ha compost) over
T0 (control). However, in post-harvest soil except soil reaction (pH); electrical
conductivity (EC), organic carbon (OC), available N, P, K, S, Ca, Mg, Na, Fe and
Zn significantly increased for T3 (12 t ha-1 vermicompost) than T1, T2, T4, T5, T6
and T0.