Effect of Integrated Nutrient Management on Growth, Yield and Quality of Papaya (Carica papaya L.) cv. Red Lady under Semi-Arid Agro-Climatic Conditions of Central Telangana, India

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted during 2022–2024 in Telangana, to evaluate the effect of integrated nutrient management (INM) on growth, yield, fruit quality, and soil fertility of papaya (Carica papaya L.) cv. Red Lady under lateritic soil conditions. The experiment was laid out in a randomized block design with ten treatments comprising different combinations of recommended chemical fertilizers and bio-enriched vermicomposts prepared using poultry manure, neem cake, Azospirillum, and PGPR mix-1, with three replications. Results revealed that INM treatments significantly influenced vegetative growth, yield attributes, fruit quality parameters, and post-harvest soil nutrient status. Among the treatments, application of 25% NPK through PGPR mix-1 enriched vermicompost combined with 75% of the recommended dose of fertilizers (T₄) recorded the highest plant height, number of fruits per plant, average fruit weight, and total yield (52.93 kg plant⁻¹). The same treatment also produced superior fruit quality, registering maximum total soluble solids (15.64°Brix), pulp percentage (90.28%), and ascorbic acid content, along with the lowest titratable acidity (0.10%). Post-harvest soil analysis indicated improved organic carbon content and higher availability of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium under INM treatments compared to sole chemical fertilization and control. The integration of organic and microbial inputs enhanced nutrient-use efficiency and contributed to improved soil fertility. The study demonstrates that partial substitution of chemical fertilizers with bio-enriched vermicompost is an effective, eco-friendly, and sustainable nutrient management strategy for improving papaya productivity and soil health under semi-arid conditions of Telangana, with potential applicability to similar tropical agro-ecological regions.