Impact of Vermicompost Formulations on Black Carrot Yield, Quality, and Soil Fertility

Abstract

Excessive use of chemical fertilizers and declining soil fertility pose significant challenges to sustainable agriculture, often leading to degraded soil health and reduced crop quality. This experiment aimed to evaluate alternative fertilization strategies to optimize black carrot yield and quality while improving soil fertility. Organic residues, including paddy straw and deciduous tree leaves, were combined with cow dung and biogas slurry in a 1:1 ratio to prepare vermicompost treatments, which were tested along with integrated nutrient management and chemical fertilizer treatments. Over two years, the data revealed that integrated nutrient management, involving 50% recommended dose of chemical fertilizers and 50% deciduous tree leaves vermicompost, resulted in the highest yield and yield attributes of black carrot, while the control treatment produced the lowest productivity. The integrated nutrient management also showed greater improvements in soil properties, including pH, electrical conductivity (EC), organic carbon (OC), cation exchange capacity (CEC), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), and micronutrients, especially in the later years of the study. This is likely due to the initially low organic carbon and nutrient content of the experimental soil, with organic amendments typically taking three to four years to elicit a positive response. Overall, the study demonstrates that integrated nutrient management is more effective in enhancing both carrot yield and soil fertility, providing a sustainable approach to improving crop production and long-term soil health.