<p>Organic farming is becoming increasingly popular with rapidly growing global demand for organic products. It offers considerable benefits over conventional farming system particularly with respect to sustainable yield, better quality and hazard-free produce. In fact, organic farming has been the outcome of concerns related to increasing contamination in food and its consequent negative effects on human health. Fruits, often eaten raw, are more vulnerable to contamination with chemicals due to their residual toxicity as compared to cereals or pulses. Thus, organic production of fruits is becoming more popular than other crops. This production system emphasizes use of cultural, mechanical and biological management practices instead of external inputs such as synthetic pesticides. Production is based on management practices for site specific conditions that enhance the ecological balance of natural system. The present investigation was, therefore, undertaken to assess the economic viability and impact of organic farming of papaya on yield and fruit quality under agro-ecological conditions of north Bihar.</p><p>A field trial was conducted at Horticultural Research Station, Birauly. The soil of the experimental plot was calcareous sandy loam with pH 8.3, E.C. 0.36 d S/m, organic carbon 0.20%, 129 kg/ha N available, 16.8 kg/ha PO<sub>5</sub> and 124.2 kg/ha K<sub>2</sub>O, and 28.5% free Ca<sub>2</sub>CO<sub>3</sub>. Papaya cv. Pusa Delicious was raised separately using different organic manures and the recommended dose of inorganic fertilizers. The treatments were replicated 4 times in randomized block design with a plot size of 6 m x 6 m accommodating 9 plants (at 1.8 m x 1.8 m) and 120 cm path between two plots. Four organic manures, <italic>viz.</italic> FYM, vermi-compost, poultry manure and neem cake were applied as a source of plant nutrient. Efficacy of these manures was compared with application of inorganic fertilizer mixture having 200 g N + 250 g P<sub>2</sub>O<sub>5</sub> + 100 g K<sub>2</sub>O per plant per year. The organic manures were applied separately @ 25 kg FYM, 10 kg vermi-compost, poultry manure/10 kg and 2 kg neem cake per plant in the pit, 3 weeks ahead of the planting time. Besides basal application, 3 subsequent applications of FYM (10 kg), vermicompost (5 kg), poultry manure (5 kg) and neem cake (1 kg) were made at three months interval. The entire organic fertilizer mixture (200 g N, 250 g P<sub>2</sub>O<sub>5</sub> and 100 g K<sub>2</sub>O) was applied in two splits half at the time of planting and half after six months of the planting. Observations on growth, yield and quality parameters were recorded. Incidence of papaya ring-spot virus (PRSV) was measured as: number of infected plants/total number of plants assessed (healthy + infected) x100.</p><p>The various treatments had significant impact on fruiting and yield of papaya plants (Tables <xref ref-type="table" rid="tab001">1</xref> and <xref ref-type="table" rid="tab002">2</xref>). Plant height, plant girth and fruit initiation height did not vary appreciably due to the treatments. Some variation in fruit length could be observed but this again was statistically non-significant. The number of fruits per tree varied significantly due to the treatments. The highest number of fruits per plant was observed with the control i.e application of inorganic fertilizer mixture. Application of organic manures registered significantly lower number of fruits per plant. Two treatments, i.e. application of FYM @ 25 kg/plant and use of poultry manure @ 10 kg/plant showed better response than the other manures like vermi-compost or neemcake. Although, they narrowly escaped to produce number of fruits at par with the application of inorganic fertilizers, they did produce comparable yields per plant with the highest yielding control, i.e. application of inorganic fertilizers. Yields per plant were lower with vermicompost or neem cake. However, the impact of treatments on quality parameters, i.e. fruit size, average fruit weight and TSS was statistically non-significant (<xref ref-type="table" rid="tab002">Table 2</xref>). The yield gain with respect to better treatments was mainly due to higher number of fruits per plant and not owing to the size or weight of the fruits. <table-wrap id="tab001"><label>Table 1</label><caption><p>Vegetative growth and fruiting potential of Pusa Delicious papaya under organic and inorganic cultivation.</p></caption><table><thead><tr><th>Treatment</th><th align="center">Plant height (cm)</th><th align="center">Plant girth (cm)</th><th align="center">Fruit initiation height</th><th align="center">Fruiting length (cm)</th><th align="center">No. of fruits/plant</th><th align="center">Incidence of PRSV (%)</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td colspan="7"><hr /></td></tr><tr><td>FYM</td><td align="center">147.40</td><td align="center">28.45</td><td align="center">66.2</td><td align="center">59.4</td><td align="center">31.4</td><td align="center">51.1</td></tr><tr><td>Vermi-compost</td><td align="center">152.12</td><td align="center">27.62</td><td align="center">70.5</td><td align="center">56.2</td><td align="center">29.7</td><td align="center">60.5</td></tr><tr><td>Poultry manure</td><td align="center">163.62</td><td align="center">28.80</td><td align="center">72.8</td><td align="center">64.1</td><td align="center">31.8</td><td align="center">54.0</td></tr><tr><td>Neem cake</td><td align="center">129.05</td><td align="center">26.30</td><td align="center">77.2</td><td align="center">50.2</td><td align="center">24.0</td><td align="center">49.0</td></tr><tr><td>Control (Inorganic fertilizer mix)</td><td align="center">156.32</td><td align="center">26.70</td><td align="center">69.0</td><td align="center">56.2</td><td align="center">36.5</td><td align="center">59.0</td></tr><tr><td>LSD (P = 0.05)</td><td align="center">NS</td><td align="center">NS</td><td align="center">NS</td><td align="center">NS</td><td align="center">4.66</td><td align="center">NS</td></tr></tbody></table></table-wrap><table-wrap id="tab002"><label>Table 2</label><caption><p>Effect of organic farming on yield attributes and benefit: cost ratio of Pusa Delicious papaya.</p></caption><table><thead><tr><th>Treatment</th><th align="center">Average fruit wt. (kg)</th><th align="center">Fruit length (cm)</th><th align="center">Fruit breadth (cm)</th><th align="center">Yield (kg/plant)</th><th align="center">Yield (t/ha)</th><th align="center">TSS(%)</th><th align="center">B:C ratio</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td colspan="9"><hr /></td></tr><tr><td>FYM</td><td align="center">1.30</td><td align="center">17.5</td><td align="center">11.7</td><td align="center">40.80</td><td align="center">113.2</td><td align="center">11.7</td><td align="center">3.32</td></tr><tr><td>Vermicompost</td><td align="center">1.10</td><td align="center">16.9</td><td align="center">10.7</td><td align="center">32.70</td><td align="center">90.7</td><td align="center">11.5</td><td align="center">2.42</td></tr><tr><td>Poultry manure</td><td align="center">1.20</td><td align="center">17.5</td><td align="center">11.5</td><td align="center">38.22</td><td align="center">106.0</td><td align="center">11.0</td><td align="center">3.04</td></tr><tr><td>Neem cake</td><td align="center">1.00</td><td align="center">16.0</td><td align="center">10.8</td><td align="center">27.22</td><td align="center">67.2</td><td align="center">11.5</td><td align="center">1.48</td></tr><tr><td>Control (Inorganic fertilizer mix)</td><td align="center">1.20</td><td align="center">17.1</td><td align="center">11.0</td><td align="center">43.80</td><td align="center">121.5</td><td align="center">10.8</td><td align="center">3.65</td></tr><tr><td>LSD (P = 0.05)</td><td align="center">NS</td><td align="center">NS</td><td align="center">NS</td><td align="center">5.83</td><td align="center">19.5</td><td align="center">NS</td><td align="center">0.78</td></tr></tbody></table></table-wrap></p><p>Soil fertility is a function of balanced physical soil characteristics, chemical reactions and biological activities. The better response of organic sources of plant nutrients like FYM and poultry manure might have helped in incorporating a more suitable humic balance that could maintain a more appropriate soil organic matter content. Thus, the main reason for better production with FYM and poultry manure was improved plant and soil relationships. Continuous intensive inorganic fertilization of the experimental plot in the past had accelerated the pace of soil exploitation and led to reduced fertility status. Thus, the organic manures worked for amelioration of the soil which ultimately led to better crop response. Earlier report by Pinamouti and Sicher (<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="bib003">3</xref>) indicates that presence of sufficient organic matter helps in reducing soil compaction due to increase in the traffic of orchard machinary. Although soil organic amendments supply nutrients, they also improve the physical and hydrological conditions of the soil, thereby reducing the likelihood of a nutritional imbalance in fruit crops. There are several evidences on fruit crops, where compost application resulted in improved plant nutrient status and fewer physiological and pathological disorders than the excessive use of inorganic fertilizers (Pohlan, <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="bib004">4</xref>; Sangakkara, <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="bib005">5</xref>; Lindhard and Callesen, <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="bib002">2</xref>; Kimura and Fujiwara, <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="bib001">1</xref>; Wang <italic>et al.</italic>, <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="bib006">6</xref>; Pinamonti and Sicher, <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="bib004">4</xref>). In the present studies, papaya plants under organic farming suffered from papaya ringspot virus in almost similar way to that of grown non-organically (<xref ref-type="table" rid="tab001">Table 1</xref>).</p><p>Lower yields with organic manures particularly vermi-compost and neem cake reduced the volume of produce that can be sold and increased the cost of production (<xref ref-type="table" rid="tab002">Table 2</xref>) leading to lower benefit: cost ratios. Usually selling rate of organically produced fruit is much higher, but we could not get such a premium price as the local buyers were highly ignorant of inherent quality and benefit of such products. Thus, in our case, the average profits with sale of organic produce were similar to that of conventional inorganic production. This was the reason for lower B:C ratios with organic production of papaya.</p></sec></body><back><ref-list><title>References

IJH

Indian Journal of Horticulture

0972-8538

The Horticultural Society of India

ijh-65-1-023

SHORT COMMUNICATION

Performance of Pusa Delicious papaya under organic farming

Ray

P.K.

*Singh

A.K.

Kumar

Arun

Department of Horticulture, Rajendra Agricultural University, Pusa 848 125, Samastipur.

*Corresponding author's E-mail: pkraypusa@gmail.com

32008

651100101920063200752007

<p>Organic farming is becoming increasingly popular with rapidly growing global demand for organic products. It offers considerable benefits over conventional farming system particularly with respect to sustainable yield, better quality and hazard-free produce. In fact, organic farming has been the outcome of concerns related to increasing contamination in food and its consequent negative effects on human health. Fruits, often eaten raw, are more vulnerable to contamination with chemicals due to their residual toxicity as compared to cereals or pulses. Thus, organic production of fruits is becoming more popular than other crops. This production system emphasizes use of cultural, mechanical and biological management practices instead of external inputs such as synthetic pesticides. Production is based on management practices for site specific conditions that enhance the ecological balance of natural system. The present investigation was, therefore, undertaken to assess the economic viability and impact of organic farming of papaya on yield and fruit quality under agro-ecological conditions of north Bihar.</p><p>A field trial was conducted at Horticultural Research Station, Birauly. The soil of the experimental plot was calcareous sandy loam with pH 8.3, E.C. 0.36 d S/m, organic carbon 0.20%, 129 kg/ha N available, 16.8 kg/ha PO<sub>5</sub> and 124.2 kg/ha K<sub>2</sub>O, and 28.5% free Ca<sub>2</sub>CO<sub>3</sub>. Papaya cv. Pusa Delicious was raised separately using different organic manures and the recommended dose of inorganic fertilizers. The treatments were replicated 4 times in randomized block design with a plot size of 6 m x 6 m accommodating 9 plants (at 1.8 m x 1.8 m) and 120 cm path between two plots. Four organic manures, <italic>viz.</italic> FYM, vermi-compost, poultry manure and neem cake were applied as a source of plant nutrient. Efficacy of these manures was compared with application of inorganic fertilizer mixture having 200 g N + 250 g P<sub>2</sub>O<sub>5</sub> + 100 g K<sub>2</sub>O per plant per year. The organic manures were applied separately @ 25 kg FYM, 10 kg vermi-compost, poultry manure/10 kg and 2 kg neem cake per plant in the pit, 3 weeks ahead of the planting time. Besides basal application, 3 subsequent applications of FYM (10 kg), vermicompost (5 kg), poultry manure (5 kg) and neem cake (1 kg) were made at three months interval. The entire organic fertilizer mixture (200 g N, 250 g P<sub>2</sub>O<sub>5</sub> and 100 g K<sub>2</sub>O) was applied in two splits half at the time of planting and half after six months of the planting. Observations on growth, yield and quality parameters were recorded. Incidence of papaya ring-spot virus (PRSV) was measured as: number of infected plants/total number of plants assessed (healthy + infected) x100.</p><p>The various treatments had significant impact on fruiting and yield of papaya plants (Tables <xref ref-type="table" rid="tab001">1</xref> and <xref ref-type="table" rid="tab002">2</xref>). Plant height, plant girth and fruit initiation height did not vary appreciably due to the treatments. Some variation in fruit length could be observed but this again was statistically non-significant. The number of fruits per tree varied significantly due to the treatments. The highest number of fruits per plant was observed with the control i.e application of inorganic fertilizer mixture. Application of organic manures registered significantly lower number of fruits per plant. Two treatments, i.e. application of FYM @ 25 kg/plant and use of poultry manure @ 10 kg/plant showed better response than the other manures like vermi-compost or neemcake. Although, they narrowly escaped to produce number of fruits at par with the application of inorganic fertilizers, they did produce comparable yields per plant with the highest yielding control, i.e. application of inorganic fertilizers. Yields per plant were lower with vermicompost or neem cake. However, the impact of treatments on quality parameters, i.e. fruit size, average fruit weight and TSS was statistically non-significant (<xref ref-type="table" rid="tab002">Table 2</xref>). The yield gain with respect to better treatments was mainly due to higher number of fruits per plant and not owing to the size or weight of the fruits. <table-wrap id="tab001"><label>Table 1</label><caption><p>Vegetative growth and fruiting potential of Pusa Delicious papaya under organic and inorganic cultivation.</p></caption><table><thead><tr><th>Treatment</th><th align="center">Plant height (cm)</th><th align="center">Plant girth (cm)</th><th align="center">Fruit initiation height</th><th align="center">Fruiting length (cm)</th><th align="center">No. of fruits/plant</th><th align="center">Incidence of PRSV (%)</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td colspan="7"><hr /></td></tr><tr><td>FYM</td><td align="center">147.40</td><td align="center">28.45</td><td align="center">66.2</td><td align="center">59.4</td><td align="center">31.4</td><td align="center">51.1</td></tr><tr><td>Vermi-compost</td><td align="center">152.12</td><td align="center">27.62</td><td align="center">70.5</td><td align="center">56.2</td><td align="center">29.7</td><td align="center">60.5</td></tr><tr><td>Poultry manure</td><td align="center">163.62</td><td align="center">28.80</td><td align="center">72.8</td><td align="center">64.1</td><td align="center">31.8</td><td align="center">54.0</td></tr><tr><td>Neem cake</td><td align="center">129.05</td><td align="center">26.30</td><td align="center">77.2</td><td align="center">50.2</td><td align="center">24.0</td><td align="center">49.0</td></tr><tr><td>Control (Inorganic fertilizer mix)</td><td align="center">156.32</td><td align="center">26.70</td><td align="center">69.0</td><td align="center">56.2</td><td align="center">36.5</td><td align="center">59.0</td></tr><tr><td>LSD (P = 0.05)</td><td align="center">NS</td><td align="center">NS</td><td align="center">NS</td><td align="center">NS</td><td align="center">4.66</td><td align="center">NS</td></tr></tbody></table></table-wrap><table-wrap id="tab002"><label>Table 2</label><caption><p>Effect of organic farming on yield attributes and benefit: cost ratio of Pusa Delicious papaya.</p></caption><table><thead><tr><th>Treatment</th><th align="center">Average fruit wt. (kg)</th><th align="center">Fruit length (cm)</th><th align="center">Fruit breadth (cm)</th><th align="center">Yield (kg/plant)</th><th align="center">Yield (t/ha)</th><th align="center">TSS(%)</th><th align="center">B:C ratio</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td colspan="9"><hr /></td></tr><tr><td>FYM</td><td align="center">1.30</td><td align="center">17.5</td><td align="center">11.7</td><td align="center">40.80</td><td align="center">113.2</td><td align="center">11.7</td><td align="center">3.32</td></tr><tr><td>Vermicompost</td><td align="center">1.10</td><td align="center">16.9</td><td align="center">10.7</td><td align="center">32.70</td><td align="center">90.7</td><td align="center">11.5</td><td align="center">2.42</td></tr><tr><td>Poultry manure</td><td align="center">1.20</td><td align="center">17.5</td><td align="center">11.5</td><td align="center">38.22</td><td align="center">106.0</td><td align="center">11.0</td><td align="center">3.04</td></tr><tr><td>Neem cake</td><td align="center">1.00</td><td align="center">16.0</td><td align="center">10.8</td><td align="center">27.22</td><td align="center">67.2</td><td align="center">11.5</td><td align="center">1.48</td></tr><tr><td>Control (Inorganic fertilizer mix)</td><td align="center">1.20</td><td align="center">17.1</td><td align="center">11.0</td><td align="center">43.80</td><td align="center">121.5</td><td align="center">10.8</td><td align="center">3.65</td></tr><tr><td>LSD (P = 0.05)</td><td align="center">NS</td><td align="center">NS</td><td align="center">NS</td><td align="center">5.83</td><td align="center">19.5</td><td align="center">NS</td><td align="center">0.78</td></tr></tbody></table></table-wrap></p><p>Soil fertility is a function of balanced physical soil characteristics, chemical reactions and biological activities. The better response of organic sources of plant nutrients like FYM and poultry manure might have helped in incorporating a more suitable humic balance that could maintain a more appropriate soil organic matter content. Thus, the main reason for better production with FYM and poultry manure was improved plant and soil relationships. Continuous intensive inorganic fertilization of the experimental plot in the past had accelerated the pace of soil exploitation and led to reduced fertility status. Thus, the organic manures worked for amelioration of the soil which ultimately led to better crop response. Earlier report by Pinamouti and Sicher (<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="bib003">3</xref>) indicates that presence of sufficient organic matter helps in reducing soil compaction due to increase in the traffic of orchard machinary. Although soil organic amendments supply nutrients, they also improve the physical and hydrological conditions of the soil, thereby reducing the likelihood of a nutritional imbalance in fruit crops. There are several evidences on fruit crops, where compost application resulted in improved plant nutrient status and fewer physiological and pathological disorders than the excessive use of inorganic fertilizers (Pohlan, <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="bib004">4</xref>; Sangakkara, <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="bib005">5</xref>; Lindhard and Callesen, <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="bib002">2</xref>; Kimura and Fujiwara, <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="bib001">1</xref>; Wang <italic>et al.</italic>, <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="bib006">6</xref>; Pinamonti and Sicher, <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="bib004">4</xref>). In the present studies, papaya plants under organic farming suffered from papaya ringspot virus in almost similar way to that of grown non-organically (<xref ref-type="table" rid="tab001">Table 1</xref>).</p><p>Lower yields with organic manures particularly vermi-compost and neem cake reduced the volume of produce that can be sold and increased the cost of production (<xref ref-type="table" rid="tab002">Table 2</xref>) leading to lower benefit: cost ratios. Usually selling rate of organically produced fruit is much higher, but we could not get such a premium price as the local buyers were highly ignorant of inherent quality and benefit of such products. Thus, in our case, the average profits with sale of organic produce were similar to that of conventional inorganic production. This was the reason for lower B:C ratios with organic production of papaya.</p></sec></body><back><ref-list><title>References1

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Fujiwara

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