Bangladesh Agron. J. 2019, 22 (1): 95-104 EFFECT OF NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT ON GROWTH AND YIELD OF CAULIFLOWER HYBRIDS IN HAOR AREA M. Salwa1* and M.A. Kashem2 1Research associate, Department of Soil Science, Sylhet Agricultural University, Sylhet -3100 2Professor, Department of Soil Science, Sylhet Agricultural University, Sylhet -3100 Corresponding E-mail: p.salwa5716@gmail.com (Received: 24 August 2019, Accepted: 17 October 2019) Keywords: Hybrid, fertilizer, growth, yield, cauliflower, haor Abstract The experiment was conducted in the Dekarhaor of Noagaon village under South Sunamganj Upazila of Sunamganj district during November 2017 to February 2018 to observe the effect of nutrients management on growth and yield of cauliflower hybrids. Two Hybrids namely ShiraGiku (V1) and Rupali (V2), and four combinations of nutrients, viz. (i) recommended rate of N-P-K-S- Zn-B @ 180-80-180-28-4.5-2.1 kg ha-1(F1), (ii) F1 + 25% N-P-K- S-Zn-B of F1 (F2), (iii) F1 – 25% N-P-K-S-Zn-B of F1 (F3), and (iv) cow dung @ 10 t ha-1 (F4) was conducted in a factorial randomized complete block design (RCBD) and replicated thrice. Plant height (cm), numbers of leaves plant-1, leaf length (cm) and leaf breadth (cm), and spreading diameter (cm) were collected at 15 days intervals, while the yield data were recorded at harvest. The parameters were significantly varied due to hybrids and fertilizers packages. Higher gross yield (42.52tha-1) was found in Shira Giku and lower (42.12 t ha- 1) from Rupali. Higher curd yield of 25.17 t ha-1 was obtained in Shira Giku than Rupali (9.61 t ha-1). The highest gross yield of 44.45 t ha-1 was obtained when the crop was treated with cowdung @ 10 t ha-1 followed by recommended fertilizer rate (F1). The curd yield of 18.19 t ha -1 was obtained with 25% less than recommended fertilizer rate of application (F3). The highest gross yield of 52.93 t ha-1 was obtained in V1F1 combination and the lowest of 30.10t ha-1in V2 F1. Results revealed that the Hybrid ShiraGiku with recommended dose of fertilizer (180-80-180-28-4.5-2.1 kg ha-1N-P-K-S-Zn-B) performed the best in comparison to other treatment combinations. Introduction Cauliflower (Brassica oleracea Lin.) is one of the popular cole crops (botrytis Group) belonging Brassicaceae family (or Cruciferae) in Bangladesh. The optimum temperature for cauliflower withstands is 10 to 15 ◦ C (Din et al., 2007). The yield of cauliflower is low due to lack of proper management practices and nutrients deficiency in the soil. National production of cauliflower was 268.48 thousand MT from 19.424 thousand ha (BBS, 2016). Haor with their unique hydro-ecological characteristics are large bowl shaped floodplain depressions. The haor goes under flooding (5-10 m) from late April to October in Sunamganj district. In haor areas of north-eastern districts of Bangladesh only one crop i.e. boro rice is widely practiced. Due to flash flood and longtime inundation of low land of haor areas it is almost impossible to cultivate more than one crop. Short duration vegetables can be introduced in that region of medium high land (kanda land). There is a huge scope in haor areas for vegetable cultivation through intensification and diversification of technology in the medium high land during winter. As the haor areas remain under water upto late October, about:blank 96 Salwa et al. cauliflower would be a promising crop for that region. After recession of flood water, cauliflower and other winter vegetables could be grown easily. Appropriate fertilizer management would play an important role in plant growth and curd formation especially in haor soil. Ali et al. (2009) reported that fertilizer manure enhanced curd yield and yield attributes substantially. Utilization of organic matter has been well documented to improve physical, chemical and biological properties of soil (Whalen et al., 2000; Tejada and Gonzalez, 2003). But the farmers of haor area are not habituated of cauliflower cultivation with proper fertilizer management of the crop. Hence, an experiment was undertaken to select asuitable hybrid of cauliflower and appropriate nutrient management package for increasing productivity of the crop in the haor areas of Sunamganj. Materials and Methods The experiment was conducted in the Dekar haorareas of South Sunamganj Upazila in Sunamganj district, during November 2017 to February 2018. Two hybrids viz. ShiraGiku (V1) and Rupali (V2), and four combinations of nutrients viz. (i) recommended dose of fertilizer (FRG, 2012) (F1) (391:388:391:156:12.8:18.6 kg ha -1 as urea, TSP, MoP, Gypsum, ZnSO4, borax), (ii) F1 + 25% of F1 (F2), (iii) F1 - 25 % of F1 (F3), and (iv) cowdung @ 10 t ha -1 (F4) was conducted in haor area. The experiment was laid out in a Factorial Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three dispersed replications. The soil of the area was silt-loam in texture having pH 4.9 - 5.2. Experimental fields were medium high land with well drained condition. The unit plot size was 5 m 4 m with 50 cm 50 cm plant spacing. The seedlings were transplanted in the nursery bed from seed bed at a height of 3 cm for proper growth and development. Afterwards thirty-day old seedlings were transplanted in the main field on 11th November 2017. The whole amount of TSP, Zn and B was applied as basal during the final land preparation. Urea and MoP were applied in three equal splits at 15, 30 and 45 DAT in ring method under moist soil condition and mixed thoroughly with the soil. Irrigations were done after fertilizer application and when necessary. Three weeding were done to control weeds at 20, 40 and 50 days after planting (DAP). Insects were controlled successfully by hand picking, removal of damaged leaves and spraying Malathion 57 EC @ 2ml L-1 water. Yield related data on curd diameter (cm), gross yield (t ha-1) and curd yield (t ha-1) were recorded during harvesting. Cauliflower was harvested when attained marketable maturity. Harvesting was done at 2-3 days interval up to second week of January 2018. Data were converted into t ha-1. The data were analyzed using R software and means separation were adjudged by using DMRT (Gomez and Gomez, 1984). Nutrient Management of Cauliflower 97 Results and Discussion Growth performance Plant height Cauliflower hybrids showed significant variation in plant height at 30, 45 and 60 days after planting (DAP) (Table 1). Shira Giku attained higher plant height of 21.33, 22.83 and 29.34 cm at 30, 45 and 60 DAT, respectively. Rupali produced shorter plant of 18.67, 18.75 and 24.58 cm at corresponding DAP. Significant variation of plant height was found due to application of different nutrients packages. At 15 and 30 DAT, the highest plant height of 22.00 and 22.83 cm, respectively, was observed when the plants received recommended dose (F 1 ) of nutrients. At 60 DAT, the longest plant (30.03 cm) was found in F 2 treatment. The main causes of above result may be the presence of available N and B in chemical fertilizer comparing sole application of cowdung. In combination, the highest plant height of 27.33 cm at 30 DAT was recorded in V 1 F4 and the lowest of 16.33 cm in V2 F 3 . Plant height of cauliflower and broccoli showed a significant variation with increasing concentrations of N and P (Sharma et al., 2002). Number of leaves plant-1 Number of leaves plant-1 was higher (6.06) in ShiraGiku and lower (5.17) in Rupali at 30 DAP (Table 1). Ara et al. (2009) reported similar results in respect of plant height. At 30 DAP, the highest leaves plant-1 (6.45) was produced from recommended fertilizer package. Interaction effect of hybrid and fertilizer showed non- significant variations in leaf number. Leaf length Hybrids showed significant variations in leaf length at 30, 45 and 60 DAP (Table 2). Hybrid ShiraGiku showed longer leaves of 26.37, 36.00 and 38.99 cm at 30, 45 and 60 DAP, respectively. Rupali produced the shorter length of 17.48, 24.27 and 27.87 cm at the corresponding dates. Significant variation on leaf length was found due to application of different fertilizer packages. The maximum length of 24.87 cm at 30 DAP was due to recommended fertilizer treatment (F1) which was statistically similar to F 2 and F3 packages. Similar pattern was also showed at 45 DAP. The biggest leaf was of17.73 cm given by V 2 F 2 at 15 DAP and the smallest in V2 F 4 . According to Farahzety and Aishah (2013), leaf area was increased up to 33 % by using chemical fertilizer. Due to fertilizer application the increased cell elongation and cell division probably influenced the leaf growth of cauliflower. Leaf breadth Significant variations were observed in leaf breadth at 30 and 45 DAP. Hybrid ShiraGiku produced wider leaf breadth of 12.75 and 17.65 cm at 30 and 45 DAP, respectively while the narrower leaves of 9.67 and 13.54 cm were observed in Rupali in the corresponding DAP (Table 2). Statistically significant variations on leaf width were observed due to different packages of nutrients application. The treatment F2 produced the maximum leaf of 8.40 cm at 15 DAP and the minimum was of 5.57 cm in F 4 . Recommended fertilizer treatment (F 1 ) produced the highest leaf breadth of 13.40, 17.78 and 21.98 cm at 30, 45 and 60 DAP, respectively. Interaction effects showed the significant response of 21.83 cm at 45 DAP due to V 1 F 1 combination. 102 Salwa et al. Spreading diameter Higher spreading diameter was reported in case of ShiraGiku of 17.24, 42.39, 56.28 and 62.10 cm and lower in Rupali of 15.93, 34.31, 47.25 and 52.92 cm at 15, 30, 45 and 60 DAP, respectively (Table 3). At 15 DAP, spreading diameter was found significant variation. The highest diameter (17.75 cm) was found due to recommended fertilizer (F 1 ) application and the lowest (15.23 cm) in F 4 treatment. Significant variation in spreading diameter was also recorded at 30 DAP where the highest value (45.47 cm) was showed due to F 2 package and the lowest (32.03 cm) was reported in F 4 package. The results were corroboratory towards the haor soil condition and nutrient availability due to different fertilizer packages. The interaction effects of hybrids and fertilizers showed non-significant variation in spreading diameter. Yield contributing characters of cauliflower Curd diameter Higher curd diameter (48.33 cm) was produced in ShiraGiku, while lower (38.46 cm) in Rupali (Table 4) and the difference in the response was probably due to genetically improved, nutrients uptake capacity and adaptive nature of the hybrids. Fertilizer packages had significant variation on curd diameter. The maximum curd diameter (46.67 cm) was recorded with the recommended nutrient application, (F1) which was at par with F 4 (43.42 cm), while the lowest diameter (41.33 cm) in F3. The largest curd diameter (59.00 cm) was observed in V1 F 1 and the smallest one (34.33 cm) in V 2 F 1 (Table 4). Curd size has a positive response towards the proper fertilizer application (Rikiand Kristian, 1997). Gross yield Gross yield was non-significant between the hybrids as well as different fertilizers packages (Table 4). It was probably caused due to profuse vegetative growth with seasonal effects as well as fertility. The highest gross yield of 52.93 t ha -1 was obtained in V 1 F 1 and the lowest 30.10 t ha-1in V 2 F 1 . According to Stanislaw and Jan (1998) gross yield of cauliflower increased with nitrogen rates up to 600 kg ha- 1. Curd yield Higher curd yield of 27.17 t ha-1was observed in ShiraGiku and the lower of 9.61 t ha-1 in Rupali (Table 4). The results assumed that ShiraGiku might be adapted to that area while Rupali may be the early hybrid but it was planted during late season which reflected the low yield. The highest curd yield of 18.19 t ha -1 was found in F 3 and the lowest (15.05 t ha-1) in F 4 treatment. Significant difference in curd yield was found due to interaction effects of hybrids and fertilizer combination. The highest curd yield (33.20 t ha-1) was produced by V 1 F 1 . The lowest curd yield of 2.87 t ha-1 was recorded from V 2 F 1 combination. Similar result was reported by Das et al. (2000) where curd yield was higher due to higher inorganic fertilizers application. Cost and returns The cost of production varied from Tk.177005 to Tk. 203673 ha-1. The gross return ranged from Tk. 57400 to Tk. 664000 for different treatments (Table 5). BCR was recorded higher in ShiraGiku where showed negative in Rupali because of small size and deformed curd formation, which might be due to seasonal effect (probably early hybrid). 102 Salwa et al. Table 1. Effect of hybrids, fertilizer packages and their interactions on plant height and number of leaves plant-1 of cauliflower in the haor are Treatments Plant height (cm) Number of leaves plant-1 15 DAP 30 DAP 45 DAP 60 DAP 15 DAP 30 DAP 45 DAP 60 DAP Hybrids Shira Giku 20.75 12.33a 22.83a 29.34a 5.83 6.06a 14.00 19.25 Rupali 17.75 17.67b 18.75b 24.58b 5.33 5.17b 13.17 16.42 Level of significance NS ** * ** NS * NS NS CV% 18.78 10.51 16.85 13.62 18.18 16.82 22.81 19.09 Fertilizer packages F1 (FGR, 2012) 22.00a 22.83a 21.33 28.73a 6.00 6.45a 15.17 19.83 F2 (F1 + 25% of F1) 18.67ab 18.38b 20.50 30.03a 6.00 4.89c 12.83 18.33 F3 (F1 - 25% of F1) 18.83ab 19.38b 21.00 25.58ab 4.67 6.11ab 13.33 18.00 F4 (Cowdung @ 10 t ha-1) 17.56b 18.33b 20.33 23.50b 5.67 5.00bc 13.00 15.67 Level of significance * ** NS * NS * NS NS CV (%) 18.78 10.51 18.78 10.51 18.18 16.82 18.18 16.82 Hybrids ×Fertilizer V1F1 21.33 20.43bc 26.67 33.80 5.67 5.56 15.67 20.33 V1F2 21.00 19.10bcd 20.67 33.40 6.33 4.67 13.00 19.67 V1F3 20.33 22.43b 23.33 27.17 5.00 6.67 13.67 21.00 V1F4 20.33 27.33a 20.67 23.00 6.33 7.33 13.67 16.00 V2F1 22.67 16.33d 16.00 23.67 6.33 4.44 14.67 19.33 V2F2 16.33 17.67cd 20.33 26.67 5.67 5.11 12.47 17.00 V2F3 17.33 16.33d 18.67 24.00 4.33 5.56 13.00 15.00 V2F4 14.67 18.33cd 20.00 24.00 5.00 5.56 12.33 14.33 Level of significance NS * NS NS NS NS NS NS CV (%) 18.78 10.51 18.78 10.51 18.18 16.82 18.18 16.82 ‘*’ significant at 0.5 %,‘**’ significant at 1 %, ‘NS’ non-significant, V1=Shira Giku, V2=Rupali, F1 -=Recommended dose of NPKSZnS, F2 -= Recommended dose + 25% NPKSZnS, F3 -= Recommended dose- 25% NPKSZnS, F4 -=Cowdung @ 10 t ha -1, DAP = Days After Planting, CV – Coefficient of Variance Nutrient Management of Cauliflower 102 Table 2. Effect of hybrids, fertilizer packages and their interactions on leaf length and breadth (cm) of cauliflower in haor area Treatments Leaf length (cm) Leaf breadth (cm) 15 DAP 30 DAP 45 DAP 60 DAP 15 DAP 30 DAP 45 DAP 60 DAP Hybrids Shira Giku 15.32 26.37a 36.00a 38.99a 7.12 12.75a 17.65a 20.11 Rupali 14.97 17.48b 24.27b 27.87b 7.04 9.67b 13.54b 17.74 Level of significance NS ** ** ** NS ** ** NS CV% 10.33 18.81 17.91 15.75 12.22 17.91 15.44 14.98 Fertilizer packages F1 (FGR, 2012) 16.38 24.87a 33.92 37.02 7.00b 13.40a 17.78a 21.98a F2 (F1 + 25% of F1) 17.45 23.58a 32.41 34.38 8.40a 12.37ab 15.92ab 19.57a F3 (F1 - 25% of F1) 16.13 22.20a 28.86 33.10 7.37ab 10.87b 15.72ab 19.30a F4 (Cowdung @ 10 t ha-1) 10.60 17.07b 25.38 29.22 5.57c 8.20c 12.96b 14.85b Level of significance NS * NS NS ** ** * ** CV (%) 10.33 18.81 10.33 18.81 12.22 17.91 12.22 17.91 Hybrids × Fertilizer V1F1 16.00a 29.20 41.67 42.33 7.37 16.40 21.83a 25.13 V1F2 17.17a 26.53 38.37 39.17 7.67 13.87 17.83ab 21.17 V1F3 16.43a 29.37 36.67 37.67 7.23 12.53 17.83ab 20.37 V1F4 11.67b 20.40 27.33 29.05 6.23 8.20 13.10c 13.77 V2F1 16.77a 20.53 26.17 27.10 6.63 10.40 13.72bc 18.83 V2F2 17.73a 20.63 26.45 26.16 9.13 10.87 14.00bc 17.97 V2F3 15.83a 15.03 21.05 20.67 7.50 9.20 13.61c 18.23 V2F4 9.53b 13.73 23.42 22.45 4.90 8.20 12.81c 15.93 Level of significance ** NS NS NS NS NS * NS CV (%) 10.33 18.81 10.33 18.81 12.22 17.91 12.22 17.91 ‘*’ significant at 0.5 %, ‘**’ significant at 1 %, ‘NS’ non-significant, Effect of Nutrient Management of Cauliflower 107 V1-=Shira Giku, V2- Rupali, F1 = Recommended dose of NPKSZnS, F2 = Recommended dose + 25% NPKSZnS, F3 = Recommended dose - 25% NPKSZnS, F4 = Cowdung @ 10 t ha -1, DAP = Days After Planting, CV = Coefficient of Variance Nutrient Management of Cauliflower 104 Table 3. Effect of hybrids, fertilizer packages and their interactions on spreading area (cm) of cauliflower in haor area Treatments Spreading diameter(cm) 15 DAP 30 DAP 45 DAP 60 DAP Hybrids ShiraGiku 17.24a 42.39a 56.28a 62.10a Rupali 15.93b 34.31b 47.25b 52.92b Level of significance ** * * ** CV% 5.09 22.31 16.28 12.77 Fertilizer packages F1 (FGR, 2012) 17.75a 33.72b 51.95 60.75 F2 (F1 + 25% of F1) 17.48a 45.47a 55.97 60.58 F3 (F1 - 25% of F1) 15.88b 42.18ab 53.68 57.90 F4 (Cowdung @ 10 t ha -1) 15.23b 32.03b 45.45 50.80 Level of significance ** * NS NS CV (%) 5.09 22.31 5.09 22.31 Hybrids x Fertilizer V1F1 17.60 37.47 58.83 71.97 V1F2 18.27 51.87 59.87 63.87 V1F3 16.57 48.07 59.60 61.50 V1F4 16.53 32.17 46.80 51.07 V2F1 17.90 29.97 45.07 49.53 V2F2 16.70 39.07 52.07 57.30 V2F3 15.20 36.30b 47.77 54.30 V2F4 13.93 31.90 44.10 50.53 Level of significance NS NS NS NS CV (%) 5.09 22.31 5.09 22.31 ‘*’ significant at 0.5 %, ‘**’ significant at 1 %, ‘NS’ non-significant, V1= ShiraGiku, V2= Rupali, F1 = Recommended dose of NPKSZnS, F2 = Recommended dose + 25% NPKSZnS, F3 - Recommended dose - 25% NPKSZnS, F4 - Cowdung @ 10 t ha -1, DAP – Days After Planting, CV – Coefficient of Variance 10 7 Effect of Nutrient Management of Cauliflower 107 Table 4. Effect of hybrids, fertilizer packages and their interactions on yield of cauliflower in haor area Treatments Yield parameters Curd diameter (cm) Gross yield (t ha-1) Curd yield (t ha-1) Hybrids ShiraGiku 48.33a 42.52 25.17a Rupali 38.46b 42.12 9.61b Level of significance ** NS ** CV% 4.17 19.13 23.52 Fertilizer packages F1 (FGR, 2012) 46.67a 41.52 18.03 F2 (F1 + 25% of F1) 42.17b 39.58 17.83 F3 (F1 - 25% of F1) 41.33b 43.75 18.19 F4 (Cowdung @ 10 t ha -1) 43.42ab 44.45 15.05 Level of significance * NS NS CV (%) 4.17 19.13 23.52 Hybrids x Fertilizer V1F1 59.00a 52.93a 33.20a V1F2 46.00b 41.44abc 25.04b V1F3 43.83bc 37.32bc 21.63bc V1F4 44.50bc 38.40abc 20.80bc V2F1 34.33e 30.10c 2.87e V2F2 38.83d 50.17ab 14.75cd V2F3 38.33d 37.72bc 10.64d V2F4 42.33c 50.49ab 10.20d Level of significance ** ** ** CV (%) 4.17 18.76 23.52 ‘*’ significant at 0.5 %, ‘**’ significant at 1 %, ‘NS’ non-significant, V1= ShiraGiku, V2= Rupali, F1 = Recommended dose of NPKSZnS, F2 = Recommended dose + 25% NPKSZnS, F3 - =Recommended dose - 25% NPKSZnS, F4 = Cowdung @ 10 t ha -1, CV = Coefficient of Variance 102 Salwa et al. Table 5. Cost of production, gross return, net return and BCR of cauliflower in haor areas Treatments Cost of production (Tk. ha-1) Gross return (Tk. ha-1) Gross margin (Tk. ha-1) BCR Hybrids ShiraGiku 203673 503400 299727 2.47 Rupali 202283 183200 -19083 -1.10 Fertilizer packages F1 (FGR, 2012) 212562 360600 148038 1.70 F2 (F1 + 25% of F1) 265703 356600 90897 1.34 F3 (F1 - 25% of F1) 159422 363800 204378 2.28 F4 (Cowdung @ 10 t ha -1) 177005 301000 123995 1.70 Hybrids x Fertilizer V1F1 208118 664000 455882 3.19 V1F2 243688 500800 257112 2.06 V1F3 181548 432600 251052 2.38 V1F4 190339 416000 225661 2.19 V2F1 207423 57400 -150023 -3.61 V2F2 233993 295000 61007 1.26 V2F3 180853 212800 31947 1.18 V2F4 189644 204000 14356 1.08 Note: Market price of Cauliflower was Tk. 20 kg-1, V1- ShiraGiku, V2- Rupali, F1 = Recommended dose of NPKSZnS, F2 = Recommended dose + 25% NPKSZnS, F3 = Recommended dose - 25% NPKSZnS, F4 - Cowdung@ 10 t ha-1, BCR = Benefit Cost Ratio Conclusion Results revealed that the cauliflower var. hybrid Shira Giku performed better with recommended doses of fertilizer (180-80-180-28-4.5-2.1 kg ha -1N-P-K-S-Zn-B) during late season. 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