Effect of organic manure combinations on yield of chilli (Capsicum annuum) in Bundelkhand region

The experiment was conducted on chilli (Capsicum annuum L.) to evaluate the efficacy of eight distinct treatments: control (no manure), farmyard manure (FYM) 100% (20 t ha^-1), poultry manure (PM) 100% (2 t ha^-1), vermicompost (VM) 100% (3.33 t ha^-1), neem cake 100% (2 t ha^-1), FYM 50% (10 t ha^-1) + vermicompost 50% (1.66 t ha^-1), FYM 50% (10 t ha^-1) + PM 50% (1 ton ha^-1) and FYM 50% (10 t ha^-1) + neem cake 50% (1 t ha^-1), at the Karguwan Ji Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Bundelkhand University, during rabi season of 2019–2020. A randomized complete block design with three replications was employed. Applying 50% FYM (10 t ha^-1) + PM 50% (1 t ha^-1) significantly improved several plant characteristics. The results showed plant height of (56.70 cm), stem diameter (1.94 cm), 21 branches, 132 fruits/plant, fruit length of 8.63 cm, fruit diameter of 1.92 cm, average fruit weight of (1.59 g), fruit yield of (7.8 t ha^-1), and 100g dry fruit weight 31.57g. Additionally, days to first flowering decreased to 40 days. Thus, this research offers valuable insights into optimizing organic manure usage to improve crop yield contributing farming systems overall sustainability and resilience.