Evaluation of Optimum Fertigation Level for Improving Yield and Quality Attributes of Mango cv. Pant Sinduri

Abstract

Improving fertilization management for greater productivity is critical to address the issues of deteriorating soil health conditions due to overuse use of fertilizers and lower fertilizer use efficiency. Fertigation is a technique that combines irrigation and fertilization, allowing for the precise and controlled application of fertilizers through irrigation systems while conserving resources like water and fertilizer. The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of drip fertigation on yield and quality attributes of mango cv. Pant Sinduri. The experiment was conducted at Horticulture Research Centre, Patharchatta, G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, Uttarakhand between 2017 and 2018. The experiment was organized in a randomized block design involving four replications and incorporated six treatments encompassing drip fertigation at 100, 80, 60, 40, and 20 percent recommended fertilizer dose and a control (wherein no fertilizers were applied). The outcome of experimentation revealed that treatment T1 (fertigation with 100% recommended dose) recorded maximum fruit set (16.59%), fruit retention (2.87%), and minimal fruit drop (97.26%), subsequently leading to the highest fruit number (418) and yield (89.08 kg/tree) under this treatment. Similarly, fruit physical parameters as well as biochemical parameters were found highest under this treatment i.e., treatment T1. However, these parameters were statistically at par with treatment T2, i.e., fertigation with 80% recommended dose. On the other hand, significantly minimum values for these parameters were observed in the control. Therefore, it was concluded that drip fertigation at 80% recommended dose of fertilizers is economically advantageous for mango cv. Pant Sinduri.