Effect of Integrated Nutrient Management on Growth and Yield of Papaya (Carica papaya L.) cv. Gujarat Junagadh Papaya 1

Abstract

The present study was carried out for two consecutive years (2023-24 and 2024-25) at the Horticultural Research Farm, B. A. College of Agriculture, AAU, Anand, Gujarat. To assess the effects of inorganic fertilizers (RDF: 200:200:250 g NPK plant⁻¹), organic nutrient sources (FYM, vermicompost and castor cake) and Bio NPK liquid biofertilizer on papaya vegetative growth and yield attributes, the experiment was established in a Randomized Block Design with ten treatments and three replications. For every recorded measure, there were significant variations among the various treatments. The treatment T3 (75% RDF + 25% N from vermicompost + Bio NPK liquid biofertilizer) consistently outperformed others by promoting early flowering, maximum plant height, higher leaf number plant⁻¹ and increased stem girth at first and last picking. Yield attributes such as number of fruits plant⁻¹, fruit length, fruit diameter, average fruit weight and yield plant⁻¹ were also recorded as highest under the treatment T3 across both years and pooled analysis. In contrast, the control treatment T1 [RDF (200:200:250 NPK g plant⁻¹) + 10 kg FYM] recorded the lowest values for growth and yield traits and highlighting the importance of integrated nutrient application.