Influence of Different Organic Manure on Fruit Yield and Yield Attributes of Papaya (Carica papaya L.)

Abstract

Papaya (Carica papaya L.) is a widely cultivated tropical fruit crop valued for its nutrition, industrial uses, and enzyme-rich unripe fruits, but its high nutrient demand often leads to heavy chemical fertilizer use that can degrade soil health, highlighting the need for sustainable organic nutrient management. A field experiment was carried out at a farmer’s field during 2022–2024 to assess the effect of different organic manure sources on fruit yield and yield attributes of papaya (Carica papaya L.). was. It consisted of ten treatments laid out in a Randomized Block Design with three replications, involving different organic manures and their combinations viz., 100% FYM, 100% poultry manure, 100% sheep manure, 75% FYM+25% poultry manure, 75% FYM+25% sheep manure, 50% FYM+50% poultry manure, 50% FYM+50% sheep manure, 25% FYM+75% poultry manure, 25% FYM+75% sheep manure and a control (without any organic manure application). Results indicated that Yield attributes, viz., number of fruits per plant (67.00), average fruit weight (1597.30 g), fruit yield per tree (80.33 kg) and fruit yield per hectare (160.66 t/ha), were significantly higher with T9 treatment. Fruit physical parameters such as equatorial diameter (17.20 cm), polar diameter (28.35 cm), pulp thickness (3.56 cm), seed weight (101.12 g), flesh weight (1374.62 g), seed-to-flesh ratio (0.07) and fruit volume (1681.33 cm³) were also superior. This was followed by the treatment T₃ (100% sheep manure), which also recorded better growth, yield and fruit quality parameters compared to other treatments.