Kunapajala is a fermented liquid organic manure mentioned in Vrikshayurvedha and now a days popular among farmers. A field experiment was conducted to evaluate the soil and foliar efficacy of 2% and 5% herbal and non- herbal Kunapajala on plant growth by using bhindi. Kunapajala treatment was compared with inorganic fertilizers, Panchagavya and fish amino acid. Foliar application of 5% non-herbal Kunapajala recorded the highest growth and yield attributes such as plant height (124.4 cm), number of branches (3.73), leaf area index (1.42) , dry matter production (3845.51 kg ha-1, number of fruits per plant (25.5), length of fruits (15.24 cm), girth of fruits (7.22 cm), average fruit weight (20.8 g) and yield (20.78 t ha-1).

No abstract

No abstract

SUMMARY :Weed survival in the crop fields cause direct and indirect damage to the crop yield and quality.30-40% yield loss occurs due to weedsbecause they compete with crops for water, nutrients and light.In addition to the above effects, weedsact as one of the most significant sources of insect and mite pests and diseases. Crop debris can harbour a lot of pests, giving them a safe place to wait around before moving into another crop. Weeds provide shelter and food for insect and mite pests and act as a host or alternate hosts for insects. Insects will move easily from weed to crop plants and they act as vectors for various plant diseases in the field.To minimise the incidence of the pests and diseases on the crop, it is essential to keep the weeds under check by adopting the effective weed control methods which include preventive and control methods.Before adopting an appropriate method, it is essential to know about the weed seeds dispersal, mode of propagation, crop-weed competition.Crop production practices should seek to sever the taxonomic association between the crop and the weeds found within the crop, and nearby places they must be eliminated. Particularly important integrated weed management practices including crop rotation, intercropping, flooding, green manuringand reduceduse of chemical herbicides, management of weeds in non-cultivated areas should be followed. Reshma, A., Ushakumari, K. and Rishitha, G. (2017 How to cite this article :

A study on "Influence of on-farm liquid organic manures on soil health and crop production" was undertaken at the College of Agriculture, Vellayani during 2014-2017. The experiment was to evaluate the efficacy of soil and foliar applications of on-farm liquid organic manures on soil health and crop nutrition using Okra as a test crop. The treatments included were 75 per cent N as enriched vermicompost along with diluted liquid organic manures separately as soil and foliar applications. The post-harvest analysis of soil revealed that pH, EC, organic carbon and labile carbon contents varied significantly among the treatments. The highest organic carbon content of the soil was recorded by T 4 and T 12. The maximum labile carbon was recorded by T 8. T 5 was rich in available N. T 5 registered the highest plant uptake of major nutrients. The treatment T 3 registered the highest plant uptake of secondary nutrients. The highest value of Fe and Zn uptake was noticed in T 11. The highest value of Cu uptake was noticed in T 1. The highest value of Mn uptake was noticed in T 3. The lowest plant uptake of all nutrients was recorded by T 13 (Absolute control). Economics of cultivation of okra indicated that the cost-benefit ratio was found higher for treatment T 5 , 75 per cent N as EVC + Panchagavya 3 per cent foliar application (2.83) followed by T 7, 75 per cent N as EVC + cow urine 10 per cent foliar spray (2.09).