Effect of Organic Manures and Biofertilizers on Growth and Yield of Cabbage in Humid Climatic Zone Rajasthan, India

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted during the Rabi season of 2024–25 at the Research Farm of Mewar University, Chittorgarh (Rajasthan) to evaluate the influence of organic manures and biofertilizers on the growth and yield of cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata L.) under humid climatic conditions. The study employed a factorial randomized block design (FRBD) with 16 treatment combinations comprising four levels of organic manures control (no organic manure), farmyard manure (FYM) @ 12 t/ha, vermicompost @ 7.5 t/ha, and poultry manure @ 5 t/ha and four levels of biofertilizers control, PSB, VAM, and PSB + VAM replicated three times. Results revealed that among the organic manures, poultry manure @ 5 t/ha (O3) significantly enhanced growth parameters such as plant height (21.95 cm at 30 DAT and 29.97 cm at 60 DAT), stalk length (7.66 cm), and the number of non-wrapper leaves (15.96). Similarly, the combined application of PSB + VAM (B3) among biofertilizers showed superior performance with maximum plant height (19.93 and 28.57 cm), stalk length (7.10 cm), and number of non-wrapper leaves (15.03). In terms of yield parameters, the treatment combination O3B3 (Poultry manure @ 5 t/ha + PSB + VAM) resulted in the highest head diameter (18.62 cm), head size (17.19 cm), net head weight (853.17 g), and head yield (301.35 q/ha), significantly outperforming all other treatments. The findings suggest that the integration of poultry manure with PSB and VAM not only improves vegetative growth but also enhances yield potential of cabbage under agro-climatic conditions of Rajasthan. Therefore, the combination of O3B3 can be recommended as a sustainable and effective nutrient management practice for cabbage cultivation.