Bangladesh Agron. J. 2019, 22(2): 151-159 INTEGRATED NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT FOR SUNFLOWER IN COASTAL CHAR LAND OF BANGLADESH I.S.M. Farhad1*, E. Jahan2, M.F.A. Anik3, M.M.U. Chowdhury4 and S. Akhter5 1, 3&5Soil Science Division, BARI, Gazipur, Bangladesh 2Department of Agricultural Chemistry, SAU, Dhaka, Bangladesh 4On-Farm Research Division, BARI, Noakhali, Bangladesh *Corresponding E-mail: farhadsau@gmail.com (Received: 24 March 2020, Accepted: 30 April 2020) Keywords: Sunflower, coastal char land, integrated nutrient management, yield, BCR Abstract An experiment was conducted at coastal charlandof OFRD, BARI, Noakhali;MLT site, Amtoli,Bargunaand ARS,Benarpota, Satkhira during Rabi season of 2018-19to evaluate the effect of integrated nutrient management on growth,yield and economic performance of sunflower. Six treatment combinations viz. T1= Soil test based fertilizer dose for HYG, T2 = IPNS with 5 tha-1cowdung, T3= IPNS with 5 tha-1 compost, T4= IPNS with 1.5 t ha- 1vermicompost, T5= Farmers’ practice and T6= Absolute control were tested. The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design with 3 replications and BARI Sunflower-2 was used as test crop.The IPNS treatment combinations are significantly differentfrom rest of the treatments in terms of yield and economic return. Application of treatment IPNS with 1.5 tha-1vermicompost significantly increased all of the parameters such as the plant height, head diameter, number of seed per head,1000 seed weight, seed yield and stover yield. The significantly highest seed yield (2.19, 2.23 and 2.06 t ha-1 at Noakhali, Bargunaand Satkhira, respectively) was recorded in IPNS with 1.5 tha-1vermicompost treated plot (T4) while the lowest seed yield (1.05, 1.10 and 1.02 t ha-1 at Noakhali, Barguna and Satkhira, respectively) was observed in absolute control treatment (T6). Salinity level increased at slower rate in T2, T3 and T4, treatments where IPNS based nutrient management packages were imposed.During the crop growing period soil salinity ranged from 0.62 to 9.72dS m-1, 0.58 to 9.23dS m-1, 0.73 to 9.86dS m-1 at Noakhali, Barguna and Satkhira, respectively from emergence to maturity stages of the crop. The highest net return (50790 Tk. ha-1, 52765 Tk. ha-1 and 43940 Tk. ha-1 at Noakhali, Barguna and Satkhira, respectively) as well as BCR (1.75, 1.78 and 1.67 atNoakhali, Barguna and Satkhira, respectively) were obtained from T4 treatment (IPNS with 1.5 tha-1vermicompost) whereas the lowest net return (14900 Tk. ha-1 ,15175 Tk. ha-1 and 11570 Tk. ha-1 at Noakhali, Barguna and Satkhira, respectively) and BCR (1.40, 1.33 and 1.26at Noakhali, Barguna and Satkhira, respectively) were obtained from control (T6) treatment. The overall results indicated that IPNS with 1.5 tha-1 vermicompostis more effective than other fertilizer management packages in respect of yield as well as economic return for sunflower cultivation in the coastal charland of Bangladesh. Introduction Sunflower (Helianthus annuusL.) is an important oilseed crop of the world and it ranks second in production next tosoybean (FAO, 2003).It is a thermo neutral crop growing both in Rabi and Kharifseasons in anywhere in Bangladesh. Sunflower has potential to reduce the existing gap between production and consumption of edible oil because it contains almost 40-50% oil and rich in protein which is about 23%(Rosa and Rosemar, 2009). Cultivation of sunflower is suitable in the coastal region of Bangladesh because of its extensive adaptability and it is a good substitute when it is difficult to cultivate other crops due to climate change, increasing soil salinity in the coastal areas, scarcity of irrigation facility etc.Sunflower can be grown in any district of Bangladesh and the average production is about 1.2 tha-1, which is relatively encouraging but not satisfactory (BBS, 2016). The lower mailto:farhadsau@gmail.com 152 Farhad et al. productivity of sunflower is mainly due to lack of high yielding varieties, its cultivation onmarginal lands with inadequate nutrients and alsocontinuous and imbalance use of inorganic fertilizer deteriorates soil health. Experimental evidences revealed that the crop was highly responsive to different fertilizers and the yield could be increased remarkably through judicious fertilization (Mohamed, 1984; Roy and Singh, 2005; Kaziet al., 2002). Integrated nutrient management practices applied for sunflower can contribute to sustainable growth, yield and quality, influences plant health and reduces environmental risks. Use of organic manures with optimum rate of fertilizers under intensive farming system increases the turnover of nutrients in the soil plant system. The organic manures help in reducing the dose of inorganic fertilizer, whichinturn reduces the cost of cultivation and help in improving the soil health. Although sunflower cultivation in Bangladesh is rather limited, there is an ample scope of increasing its cultivation and productivity through integrated nutrient management. Therefore, the present piece of research work was undertaken to know the effect of integration of nutrients for cultivation of sunflower in coastal charlands and to find out the optimum and economic fertilizer dose for sunflower. Materials and Methods A field experiment was conducted at coastal charlandof OFRD, BARI, Noakhali (AEZ-18);MLT site, Amtoli,Barguna (AEZ-13) and ARS, Benarpota, Satkhira (AEZ-13) during Rabi season of 2018-19to evaluate the effect of integrated nutrient management for better yield of sunflower. Before conducting the experiment, initial composite soil samples (0-15 cm) were collected from the experimental plots and collected samples were analyzed in the laboratory following standard methods (Table 1). Moreover, nutrient status of vermicompost, compost and cowdung used in the experimental field were also analyzed (Table 2). The experiment was laid out in a RCB design with three (03) replicates. The unit plot size was 4m×3m and BARI Sunflower-2 was used as the test crop. Treatments were randomly distributed within the blocks as follows: T1= Soil test based fertilizer dose for HYG, T2 = IPNS with 5 tha-1cowdung, T3= IPNS with 5 tha-1 compost, T4= IPNS with 1.5 t ha-1 vermicompost, T5= Farmers’ practice and T6= Absolute control (Table 3a, 3b & 3c). The seeds were sown @ 10 kg ha-1 in line with the spacing of 50 cm x 25 cmon 18 December, 20 December and 17 December, 2018 atNoakhali,Barguna and Satkhira,respectively. Different intercultural operations and plant protection measures were taken as and when necessary to raise healthy crops. Table 1. Chemical properties of initial soil of experimental field during 2018-19 Location pH EC OM Ca Mg K Total N P S B Cu Fe Mn Zn dSm-1 (%) meq 100g-1 (%) μg g-1 Noakhali 6.9 1.05 1.28 5.0 2.3 0.11 0.08 9.3 28.2 0.61 1.01 18 6.74 1.95 Barguna 6.5 0.91 1.19 3.7 1.9 0.22 0.09 2.6 22.6 0.50 1.13 21 5.12 1.60 Satkhira 7.6 1.13 1.44 1.69 1.1 0.20 0.11 12.1 26.7 0.47 1.18 13 7.68 0.65 Critical Level - - 2.0 0.5 0.12 0.12 7/10 10 0.20 0.2 4 1 0.6 EC= Electrical Conductivity & OM= Organic Matter Table 2. Nutrient status of compost,cowdung andvermicompost used in the experimental field Name of the manure pH OC Ca Mg K Total N P S B Zn Pb Cd As % (ppm) Compost 7.1 16.3 1.50 2.10 1.17 1.23 0.79 0.50 0.013 0.14 2.89 2.11 1.72 Cow dung 7.5 15.4 2.23 0.44 0.69 1.15 0.57 0.36 0.011 0.15 3.10 2.84 1.26 Vermicompost 7.2 17.9 2.10 2.60 1.94 1.68 1.26 0.89 0.015 0.16 2.61 2.19 1.14 OC = Organic Carbon Moisture content of Compost = 12.15 %,Cowdung = 12.46 % and Vermicompost = 11.96 % Integrated Nutrient Management for Sunflower 153 Table 3a. Treatment combinations for sunflower atNoakhali Treatments Treatment combination Chemical fertilizer (kg ha-1) Organic manure (t ha-1) N P K S Zn B Cowdung Compost Vermicom post T1= Soil test based fertilizer dose for HYG (FRG,2012) 134 29 56 1.3 - - 0 0 0 T2= IPNS with 5 tha- 1cowdung 111 17.6 42.2 0 - - 5 0 0 T3= IPNS with 5 tha- 1 compost 109.4 11.2 32.6 0 - - 0 5 0 T4= IPNS with 1.5 tha-1vermicompost 124 21.4 44.3 0 - - 0 0 1.5 T5= Farmers’ practice 138 18 25 0 - - - - - T6 = Absolute control Native fertility - - - Table 3b. Treatment combinations for sunflower at Barguna Treatments Treatment combination Chemical fertilizer (kg ha-1) Organic manure (t ha-1) N P K S Zn B Cowdung Compost Vermicom post T1= Soil test based fertilizer dose for HYG (FRG,2012) 125 42 31.3 6.9 - - 0 0 0 T2= IPNS with 5 tha- 1cowdung 102 30.6 17.5 0 - - 5 0 0 T3= IPNS with 5 tha-1 compost 100 26.2 7.9 0 - - 0 5 0 T4= IPNS with 1.5 tha-1vermicompost 114 34 19.6 1.6 - - 0 0 1.5 T5= Farmers’ practice 100 20 30 5 - - - - - T6 = Absolute control Native fertility - - - The crop was harvested on 28 March, 31 March and 25 March, 2019 at Noakhali, Barguna and Satkhira, respectively. Soil salinity level was measured by using Electrical Conductivity meter Adwa (AD 310) at different growth stages of the crop. Data were collected on an individual plant basis from ten (10) randomly selected plants of each plot in such a way that the border effect was avoided for high precision. Data on yield and yield contributing parameters were recorded and statistically analyzed with the help of statistical package statistix 10 (Analytical Software. Tallahassee, Fla, USA) and mean separation was tested by Duncan’s Multiple Range Test (DMRT) (Steel and Torrie, 1960). Table 3c. Treatment combinations for sunfloweratSatkhira 154 Farhad et al. Treatments Treatment combination Chemical fertilizer (kg ha-1) Organic manure (t ha-1) N P K S Zn B Cowdung Compost Vermicom post T1= Soil test based fertilizer dose for HYG (FRG,2012) 100 23 36 3.1 1.5 - 0 0 0 T2= IPNS with 5 tha- 1cowdung 77 11.6 22.2 0 - - 5 0 0 T3= IPNS with 5 tha- 1 compost 75.4 7.2 12.6 0 - - 0 5 0 T4= IPNS with 1.5 tha-1vermicompost 89 15.9 24.3 0 0.5 - 0 0 1.5 T5= Farmers’ practice 115 20 25 2 - - - - - T6 = Absolute control Native fertility - - - Methods of chemical analysis Soil pH was measured by a combined glass calomel electrode (Jackson, 1958). Organic carbon was determined by wet oxidation method (Walkley and Black, 1934). Total N was determined by modified Kjeldahl method. Ca and Mg were determined by NH4OAc extraction method. K, Cu, Fe, Mn and Zn were determined by DTPAextraction followed by AAS reading. Boron was determined by CaCl2 extraction method. Phosphorus was determined by Bray and Kurtz method (Acid soils) and Modified Olsen method (Neutral + Calcareous soils). S was determined by CaH4 (PO4)2.H2O extraction followed by turbidimetric method with BaCl2. Results and Discussion Yield and yield components The effect of integrated nutrient management on the yield and yield parameters of sunflower are summarized in the Table 4, 5&6. Seed yield, stoveryield and yield attributes like plant height, head diameter, number of seeds head-1 and thousand seed weight of sunflower were significantly influenced by different nutrient management packages in this study. Table 4. Effect of integrated nutrient management on yield and yield contributing characters of sunflower var. BARI Sunflower-2 at Noakhali during Rabi season of 2018-19 Treatments Plant height (cm) Head diameter(cm) Number of seeds head-1 1000 Seed weight (g) Seed yield (t ha-1) Stover yield (t ha-1) T1 127.6c 14.5bc 547d 57.7abc 1.59c 3.38c T2 131.4b 15.1ab 599c 59.6ab 1.87b 3.80b T3 134.7ab 15.8ab 632b 60.3ab 2.08ab 4.05a T4 136.3a 16.3a 648a 62.2a 2.19a 4.20a T5 123.2cd 13.7c 528d 57.1bc 1.48c 2.97d T6 114.8d 12.2d 463e 54.3c 1.05d 2.35e CV (%) 5.42 4.12 4.60 2.13 6.81 5.14 Means followed by same letter (s) do not differ significantly at 5% level of significance T1= Soil test based fertilizer dose for HYG (FRG,2018),T2= IPNS with 5 tha-1cowdung, T3= IPNS with 5 tha- 1compost, T4= IPNS with 1.5 tha-1vermicompost,T5= Farmers’ practice and T6 = Absolute control Integrated Nutrient Management for Sunflower 155 Significantly the highest plant height (136.3 cm, 137.4 cm and 129.5 cm at Noakhali, Bargunaand Satkhira, respectively) was observed in T4 treatment (IPNS with 1.5 t ha-1 vermicompost) which was statistically identical with T3 treatment. The lowest plant height (114.8 cm, 115.5 cm and 112.1 cm Noakhali, Bargunaand Satkhira, respectively) was obtained from absolute control treatment (T6). The result related to plant height was similar to the findings of Vedpathak and Chavan (2016) who observed that application of vermicompost along with chemical fertilizers increased plant height significantly in sunflower. Significantly the maximum head diameter (16.3 cm, 16.5 cm and 15.8 cm at Noakhali, Barguna and Satkhira, respectively) was recorded in IPNS with 1.5 t ha-1 vermicompost treated plot (T4) whereas the minimum head diameter (12.2 cm, 12.6 cm and 11.9 cm at Noakhali, Barguna and Satkhira, respectively) was observed in absolute control treatment (T6). Table 5. Effect of integrated nutrient management on yield and yield contributing characters of sunflower var. BARI Sunflower-2 at Bargunaduring Rabi season of 2018-19 Treatments Plant height (cm) Head diameter (cm) Number of seeds head-1 1000 Seed weight (g) Seed yield (t ha-1) Stover yield (t ha-1) T1 127.1c 14.6d 556d 58.7c 1.66cd 3.54d T2 132.6b 15.7c 602c 59.3bc 1.89bc 3.83c T3 135.3ab 16.1b 625b 61.5ab 2.12ab 4.16b T4 137.4a 16.5a 656a 62.4a 2.23a 4.35a T5 125.2c 13.5e 534e 57.6c 1.56d 3.06e T6 115.5d 12.6f 469f 55.8d 1.10e 2.47f CV (%) 5.61 4.23 5.87 2.94 7.24 6.12 Means followed by same letter (s) do not differ significantly at 5% level of significance T1= Soil test based fertilizer dose for HYG (FRG, 2018), T2= IPNS with 5 tha-1cowdung,T3= IPNS with 5 tha-1 compost,T4= IPNS with 1.5 tha-1vermicompost,T5= Farmers’practice and T6 = Absolute control Table 6.Effect of integrated nutrient management on yield and yield contributing characters of sunflower var. BARI Sunflower-2 at Satkhira during Rabi season of 2018-19 Treatments Plant height (cm) Head diameter (cm) Number of seeds head-1 1000 Seed weight (g) Seed yield (t ha-1) Stover yield (t ha-1) T1 120.8c 14.1ab 546d 54.1bc 1.52c 3.01c T2 124.4b 14.7ab 589c 56.6ab 1.80b 3.34b T3 127.3a 15.2ab 617b 58.3a 1.97ab 3.65a T4 129.5a 15.8a 639a 59.2a 2.06a 3.73a T5 117.6d 13.3bc 501e 53.5bc 1.37d 2.76d T6 112.1e 11.9c 443f 51.1c 1.02e 2.11e CV (%) 4.87 4.14 3.85 3.40 7.35 7.72 Means followed by same letter (s) do not differ significantly at 5% level of significance T1= Soil test based fertilizer dose for HYG (FRG, 2018), T2= IPNS with 5 tha-1cowdung,T3= IPNS with 5 tha-1 compost,T4= IPNS with 1.5 tha-1vermicompost,T5= Farmers’practice and T6 = Absolute control Significantly the highest number of seeds head-1 (648, 656 and 639 at Noakhali, Barguna and Satkhira, respectively) was observed in T4 treatment which was followed by T3, T2, T1 and T5 treatment whereas the lowest number of seeds head-1 (463, 469 and 443 at Noakhali, Barguna and Satkhira, respectively) was obtained from absolute control treatment (T6). Significantly the maximum 1000 seed weight (62.2 g, 62.4 g and 59.2 g at Noakhali, Barguna and Satkhira, respectively) was recorded in T4 treatment 156 Farhad et al. which was statistically at par with T3 and T2 treatments whereas the minimum 1000 seed weight (54.3 g, 55.8 g and 51.1 g at Noakhali, Barguna and Satkhira, respectively) was recorded in control treatment (T6).Significantly the highest seed yield (2.19 t ha-1, 2.23 t ha-1 and 2.06 t ha-1 at Noakhali, Barguna and Satkhira, respectively) was recorded in IPNS with 1.5 t ha-1 vermicompost treated plot (T4) which was statistically at par with T3 (IPNS with 5 t ha-1 compost) treatment The lowest seed yield (1.05 t ha-1, 1.10 t ha-1 and 1.02 t ha-1 at Noakhali, Barguna and Satkhira, respectively) was observed from absolute control treatment (T6). The result was similar to the findings of Kalaiyarasan and Vaiapuri (2008) who observed that integrated use of chemical fertilizers along with vermicompost gave maximum seed yield in sunflower. The highest stover yield (4.20 t ha-1, 4.35 t ha-1 and 3.73 t ha-1 at Noakhali, Barguna and Satkhira, respectively) was recorded in IPNS with 1.5 t ha-1 vermicompost treated plot (T4) whereas the lowest stover yield (2.35 t ha-1, 2.47 t ha-1 and 2.11 t ha-1 at Noakhali, Barguna and Satkhira, respectively) was observed from absolute control treatment (T6). Soil salinity Soil salinity level gradually increased from emergence to maturity stages of the crop (Table 7). Initial salinity level was more or less same among the treatments. Salinity level increased at slower rate in T2, T3 and T4 treatments where IPNS based nutrient management packages were imposed.Itmay be due to the fact that any kind of organic matter will release organic acids upon decaying.So acid will result into lowering of pH.The decrease in pH can lead to charging of clay minerals and electrostatic adsorption of the organic compounds.So all kinds of organic materials shall be definitely reducing soil salinity.Moreover, the use of organic matter improves the soil structure and permeability. Table 7. Changes in soil salinity of sunflower field as influenced by various treatment combinations at different growth stages at Noakhali, Bargunaand Satkhira during Rabi season of 2018-19 Treatment Emergence stage Vegetative stage Flowering stage Seed formation stage Maturity stage Salinity range (dS m-1) At Noakhali T1 0.76-1.97 1.75-3.61 2.47-5.27 4.50-7.00 6.75-9.41 T2 0.62-1.75 1.64-2.90 2.38-4.10 3.72-5.54 5.11-7.90 T3 0.69-1.85 1.59-2.97 1.98-3.91 3.27-5.12 4.68-7.35 T4 0.71-1.79 1.60-2.81 2.23-3.98 3.57-5.33 4.76-7.41 T5 0.65-1.89 1.68-3.50 2.49-5.17 4.80-6.96 6.94-9.67 T6 0.71-2.10 2.11-3.92 2.82-5.89 4.92-7.71 7.15-9.72 At Barguna T1 0.69-1.85 1.52-2.90 2.41-4.89 4.66-6.26 5.94-8.85 T2 0.58-1.71 1.40-2.41 2.32-3.84 3.61-5.10 4.30-7.10 T3 0.63-1.80 1.32-2.10 1.87-3.78 2.49-5.79 4.12-6.35 T4 0.59-1.82 1.30-2.32 2.20-3.82 2.85-5.81 4.39-6.24 T5 0.72-1.91 1.63-3.22 2.50-5.19 4.71-7.10 5.98-9.10 T6 0.66-1.86 1.70-3.43 2.63-5.32 4.78-7.12 6.13-9.23 At Satkhira T1 0.86-2.14 1.70-3.61 3.25-5.75 4.92-7.20 6.70-9.34 T2 0.95-2.10 1.67-3.10 2.36-4.10 3.87-6.79 5.17-8.30 T3 0.82-1.76 1.62-2.98 2.82-4.70 3.40-6.52 5.10-7.95 T4 0.73-1.98 1.56-2.87 2.19-3.92 3.72-6.80 4.92-7.62 T5 0.81-2.23 1.81-3.70 2.95-5.48 4.62-8.20 7.11-9.74 T6 0.80-2.29 2.15-4.10 3.67-6.89 5.14-9.17 7.20-9.86 Integrated Nutrient Management for Sunflower 157 T1= Soil test based fertilizer dose for HYG (FRG,2012),T2= IPNS with 5 tha-1cowdung,T3= IPNS with 5 tha-1 compost,T4= IPNS with 1.5 tha-1vermicompost,T5= Farmers’ practice and T6 = Absolute control This enhances leaching of salt, reduces surface evaporation, and inhibits salt accumulation in the surface layers. In addition, organic matter also increases water infiltration, water-holding capacity, and aggregate stability and reduces electrical conductivity (Qadiret al., 2001). On the other hand, salinity level increased at higher rate in T6 treatment followed by T5 and T1. During the crop growing period soil salinity ranged from 0.62 to 9.72 dS m-1, 0.58 to 9.23 dS m-1, 0.73 to 9.86 dS m-1 at Noakhali, Barguna and Satkhira, respectively from emergence to maturity stages of the crop. Cost and return analysis Cost and return of sunflower as influenced by different nutrient management packages have been shown in the Table 8, 9&10. Among the treatments, the highest gross return (117900 Tk. ha-1, 120200 Tk. ha-1 and 110460 Tk. ha-1at Noakhali, Barguna and Satkhira, respectively), net return (50790 Tk. ha- 1, 52765 Tk. ha-1 and 43940 Tk. ha-1 at Noakhali, Bargunaand Satkhira, respectively) as well as BCR (1.75, 1.78 and 1.67 at Noakhali, Barguna and Satkhira, respectively) were obtained from T4 treatment (IPNS with 1.5 tha-1 vermicompost) whereas the lowest gross return (57200 Tk. ha-1 , 59940 Tk. ha-1 and 55220 Tk. ha-1at Noakhali, Barguna and Satkhira, respectively), net return (14900 Tk. ha-1, 15175 Tk. ha-1 and 11570 Tk. ha-1 at Noakhali, Barguna and Satkhira, respectively) and BCR (1.40, 1.33 and 1.26 at Noakhali, Barguna and Satkhira, respectively) were obtained from control (T6) treatment. Table 8.Cost and return analysis of BARI Sunflower-2 as influenced by integrated nutrientmanagement atNoakhali during 2018-19 Treatments Yield (t ha-1) Gross Return (Tk. ha-1) Total Cost (Tk. ha-1) Net Return (Tk. ha-1) BCR Seed Stover T1 1.59 3.38 86340 57200 29140 1.50 T2 1.87 3.80 101100 64109 36991 1.57 T3 2.08 4.05 112100 70970 41130 1.58 T4 2.19 4.20 117900 67110 50790 1.75 T5 1.48 2.97 79940 50550 29390 1.43 T6 1.05 2.35 57200 42300 14900 1.40 T1= Soil test based fertilizer dose for HYG (FRG,2012),T2= IPNS with 5 tha-1cowdung,T3= IPNS with 5 tha-1 compost, T4= IPNS with 1.5 tha-1vermicompost,T5= Farmers’ practice and T6 = Absolute control Input and output price per Kg: Sunflower seed = Tk. 70, Urea = Tk. 16, TSP = Tk. 22, MoP = Tk. 15, Gypsum = Tk. 12, Vermicompost = Tk. 12, Compost = Tk. 5, Cowdung= Tk.3, Sunflower = Tk. 50 and Stover = Tk. 2 Table 9.Cost and return analysis of BARI Sunflower-2 as influenced by integrated nutrient management atBarguna during 2018-19 Treatments Yield (t ha-1) Gross Return (Tk. ha-1) Total Cost (Tk. ha-1) Net Return (Tk. ha-1) BCR Seed Stover T1 1.66 3.54 90100 57177 32923 1.57 T2 1.89 3.83 102160 62213 39947 1.64 T3 2.12 4.16 114320 69370 44950 1.65 T4 2.23 4.35 120200 67435 52765 1.78 T5 1.56 3.06 84120 54842 29278 1.53 T6 1.10 2.47 59940 44765 15175 1.33 T1= Soil test based fertilizer dose for HYG (FRG,2012),T2= IPNS with 5 tha-1cowdung,T3= IPNS with 5 tha-1 compost,T4= IPNS with 1.5 tha-1vermicompost,T5= Farmers’ practice and T6 = Absolute control 158 Farhad et al. Input and output price per Kg:Sunflower seed = Tk. 70, Urea = Tk. 16, TSP = Tk. 22, MoP = Tk. 15, Gypsum = Tk. 12, Vermicompost = Tk. 12, Compost = Tk. 5, Cowdung= Tk.3, Sunflower = Tk. 50 and Stover= Tk. 2 Table 10.Cost and return analysis of BARI Sunflower-2 as influenced by integrated nutrient management at Satkhira during 2018-19 Treatment Yield (t ha-1) Gross Return (Tk. ha-1) Total Cost (Tk. ha-1) Net Return (Tk. ha-1) BCR Seed Stover T1 1.52 3.01 82020 55177 26843 1.48 T2 1.80 3.34 96680 60120 36560 1.60 T3 1.97 3.65 105800 67424 38376 1.56 T4 2.06 3.73 110460 66520 43940 1.67 T5 1.37 2.76 74020 52842 21178 1.40 T6 1.02 2.11 55220 43650 11570 1.26 T1= Soil test based fertilizer dose for HYG (FRG, 2012), T2= IPNS with 5 t ha-1 cowdung, T3= IPNS with 5 t ha-1 compost, T4= IPNS with 1.5 t ha-1 vermicompost, T5= Farmers’ practice and T6 = Absolute control Input and output price per Kg: Sunflower seed = Tk.70, Urea = Tk. 16, TSP = Tk. 22, MoP = Tk. 15, Gypsum = Tk. 12, Zinc sulphate =Tk. 150, Boric acid = Tk.220,Vermicompost = Tk. 12, Compost = Tk. 5, Cowdung= Tk. 3, Sunflower = Tk. 50 and Stover = Tk. 2 Conclusion Based on the results, it may be concluded that IPNS with 1.5 tha-1vermicompostis superior to the other fertilizer management packages in respect of yield as well as economic return for sunflower cultivation in the coastal char land of Bangladesh. 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Based on the results, it may be concluded that IPNS with 1.5 tha-1vermicompostis superior to the other fertilizer management packages in respect of yield as well as economic return for sunflower cultivation in the coastal char land of Bangladesh.