Influence of Fertigation Levels and Microbial Consortia on Broccoli Productivity and Profitability under Drip Irrigation
Abstract
The experiment entitled “Effect of different fertigation levels and microbial consortia on yield and economics of broccoli (Brassica oleracea l. var. italica) under drip irrigation” was conducted during the rabi season of 2023-24 at the Interfaculty Department of Irrigation Water Management, Post Graduate Institute, Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth, Rahuri, Ahmednagar (Maharashtra). The study aimed to evaluate the effect of fertigation levels and microbial consortia on the growth and yield of broccoli. The experimental field had welldrained clay loam soil (45 cm depth) with low available nitrogen (258.4 kg ha-1), medium phosphorus (19.80 kg ha-1), and very high potassium (395.1 kg ha-1), slightly alkaline in reaction (pH 7.91) and electrical conductivity of 0.38 dS m-1. The experiment was laid out in a split-plot design with three replications. The main plots comprised three fertigation levels: 50% RDF (F1), 75% RDF (F2), and 100% RDF (F3). Five microbial consortia were allotted to subplots: control (C0), MPKV consortium (C1), VNMKV Biomix (C2), Arka microbial consortium (C3), and IFFCO NPK liquid biofertilizer consortium (C4). Biofertigation was applied at transplanting and at 15, 30, and 45 days after transplanting. The application of 100% RDF fertigation resulted in the highest curd yields across all harvesting intervalsthatis19.47 q ha-1 (first harvest), 20.88 q ha-1 (second), 22.21 q ha-1 (third) and 20.39 q ha-1 (fourth), culminating in the maximum total curd yield of 82.95 q ha-1. This was at par with the 75% RDF fertigation level, which yielded 79.05 q ha-1. Fertigation at the 100% RDF level resulted in significantly maximum gross monetary returns (Rs. 4,97,680 ha-1) and net monetary returns (Rs. 3,42,778 ha-1) compared to other fertigation treatments. However, these economic gains were statistically at par with those observed under the 75% RDF fertigation level, Biofertigation schedule involving the MPKV Consortium demonstrated a significant positive effect on curd yield of broccoli across all harvest intervals: first harvest (25.00 q ha-1), second harvest (24.30 q ha-1), third harvest (30.07 q ha-1), fourth harvest (24.70 q ha-1) and a total curd yield of 104.07 q ha-1. In case of economic studies MPKV Consortium was found superior in terms of gross monetary returns (Rs. 5,46,167 ha-1) and net monetary returns (Rs. 3,96,880 ha-1) than rest of biofertigation schedule.