Author(s): E.K. BASHMA AND B. SUDHA

Abstract: A field experiment on crop nutrition of Nendran banana (Musa AAB group) was conducted at the Coconut Research Station, Balaramapuram, Kerala Agricultural University during 2016 April to 2017, to assess the influence of an integrated nutrient management schedule combining both soil and foliar nutrition on the yield and economics of crop and properties of soil. The experiment was laid out in Randomised Block Design with eight treatments and three replications. Yield, Net returns and B: C ratio were found higher for the treatment which received 100 per cent of the recommended dose of fertilizers (RDF) + foliar spray of KAU Banana micro mix (1%) at 3 MAP and was comparable with 75 per cent of RDF + foliar spray of 19:19:19 fertilizer mixture (0.5%) at 2 and 4MAP + foliar spray of KAU Banana micro mix (1%) at 3 MAP. The yields were 25.34 and 24.58 t ha-1; net returns 5.88 and 5.64 lakh Rs ha-1 and B: C ratios 2.37 and 2.33 respectively. Significant earliness in bunch emergence and favourable yield attributes (number of hands and fingers bunch-1) were also noticed with these two treatments. The nutrient status of soil after crop harvest was found declined in treatments which received only foliar sprays of 19:19:19 fertilizer mixture (0.5%) at monthly intervals except for soil application of 10 t ha-1 of FYM as basal. In all other treatments wherein soil and foliar nutrition were applied in an integrated way in addition to basal FYM, the soil nutrient status was maintained well above the initial level.

DOI: 10.22271/09746315.2020.v16.i1.1282

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