Effect of Organic Sources of Nutrients on Productivity and Economics of Rainfed Cotton in Vertisols under Semi-arid Conditions

Abstract

A field study was conducted to evaluate the effect of various organic sources of nutrients on productivity and economics of rainfed cotton in Vertisols. The experiment was initiated during 2019-20 and the present study was conducted during kharif 2022-23 and 2023-24 at Research field of AICRP for Dryland Agriculture, Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth, Akola, Maharashtra. The various organic sources of nutrients used were gliricidia green leaves, FYM and vermicompost. The nine treatments, which included three replications and different combinations of organic nutrient sources were evaluated in randomized block design. The findings after 5th cycle revealed that the integrated application of 50% N through FYM/ vermicompost + 50% N through gliricidia resulted in significantly higher increase in seed cotton and stalk yield. Higher monetary returns were observed with 100% RDF, however conjunctive use of FYM / vermicompost + gliricidia resulted in comparable monetary returns thereby signifying their application in economics of cotton cultivation. These studies suggest that it is beneficial to use conjoint application of FYM/ vermicompost and gliricidia green manure as it improves cotton yield with higher economic returns under semi-arid rainfed conditions.