Tender coconut husk biochar augments the growth and yield of okra in Onattukara sandy plains Vikram Krishna1, Jayapal Atul2,*, Pillai P Shalini3, Isaac Sheeba Rebecca4, Mini V5 1M. Sc. (Ag) Agronomy, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, Kerala Agricultural University, Mannuthy, 695 522 (Kerala) 2Assistant Professor, Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, Kerala Agricultural University, Mannuthy, 695 522 (Kerala) 3Professor and Head, Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, Kerala Agricultural University, Mannuthy, 695 522 (Kerala) 4Professor (Agronomy) and ADR, RARS, Kumarakom 5Assistant Professor (SSAC) and Project Director and Head, ORARS, Kayamkulam, Alappuzha *Corresponding Author's Email: atul.j@kau.in
Online published on 28 March, 2024. Abstract A field experiment was carried out to study the effect of biochar produced from tender coconut husk on growth and yield of okra [Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench] in Onattukara sandy plain' during 2023 at Onattukara Regional Agricultural Research Station, Kayamkulam, Kerala. The experiment was laid out in RBD with nine treatments which were replicated thrice. The treatments were T1 (biochar @ 5 t/ha + 100% RDF), T2 (biochar @ 10 t/ha + 100% RDF), T3 (biochar @ 5 t/ha + 5 t/ha FYM + 100% RDF), T4 (biochar @ 10 t/ha + 5 t/ha FYM + 100% RDF), T5 (biochar @ 5 t/ha + 75% RDF), T6 (biochar @ 10 t/ha + 75% RDF), T7 (biochar @ 5 t/ha + 5 t/ha FYM + 75% RDF), T8 (biochar @ 10 t/ha + 5 t/ha FYM + 75% RDF) and T9 (20 t/ha FYM + 100% RDF). The results revealed that tender coconut husk biochar has good prospects for use as a soil conditioner for okra in the sandy loam soils of Onattukara. The soil application of biochar produced from tender coconut husk at the rate of 10 t/ha along with FYM @ 5 t/ha and 100 per cent recommended dose of fertilizer can be recommended for augmenting the growth and yield of okra in the sandy loam soils of Onattukara. Top Keywords Biochar, Growth, Okra, Tender coconut husk, Yield. Top |