Effects of Vermicompost and Chemical Fertiliser on the Growth of Yield and Nutrient Content of Ipomoea aquatica and Basella alba

Abstract

A pot experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of vermicompost and chemical fertiliser on the growth of yield and nutrient content of Ipomoea aquatic and Basella alba during the period of 14th May to 13th July, 2013. The experiment was laid to fit a completely randomized design (CRD) with three treatments [control (T0), vermicompost (T1) and chemical fertiliser (T2)] each having three replications for each plant. After plant harvesting, the laboratory investigation was carried out in the Soil, Water and Environment Discipline, Khulna University, Khulna, Bangladesh. Yield contributing characters like plant height, stem length, rooting depth, number of leaves, fresh weight and dry weight were significantly (P < 0.05) influenced by different (vermicompost and chemical fertiliser) treatments. All yield character was decreased in order to T1>T2>T0, except rooting depth for the both plants Ipomoea aquatica and Basella alba. The causes of variation may due to the nutrient availability in soil. In addition, the nutrient (P, K and S) content of both plants varied significantly (P < 0.05) with the treatments T1>T0>T2. From the experiments it has been observed that the effect of vermicompost and chemical fertiliser on the growth of yield and nutrient content of Ipomoea aquatic and Basella alba were T1>T2>T0 and T1>T0>T2, respectively.  The highest yield was found for the vermicompost treatment (T1) due to the nutrient availability of the soil.