Effect of Nitrogen Management Practices in Conjunction with Farmyard Manure on Soil Properties and Fruit Yield of Chilli (Capsicum annuum L.)

Nitrogen (N) management practices has a significant impact on soil sustainability and chilli fruit yield. Therefore, an experiment study was conducted at PAU, Ludhiana during 2022–23 in split-plot design with three replicates. There are two main plots i.e. without and with farmyard manure (FYM) and thirteen N treatments in sub plots i.e. 4 different N-fertilizer levels: 0, 75, 113 and 150 kg N/ ha applied in two, three, four and five equal split doses. The results revealed that INM plots i.e. integration of N-fertilizer practices in conjuction with FYM @ 25 t/ha result siginifiantly higher fruit yield along with improving the soil properties than N-fertilizer practices without FYM. The treatment 113 kg N/ha applied in 4 split doses has significantly higher fruit yield (45.8%) along with higher macro and micro-nutrients with respect to recommended dose of fertilizer treatment 75 kg N/ha applied in two split doses. Only two split N-fertilizer doses were not ensured the sustainable crop performance. Therefore, 113 kg N/ha applied in four equal split doses integrated with FYM @ 25 t/ha in chilli would be beneficial for sustainable fruit production and soil fertility.