Effect of integrated nutrient management on growth, yield and quality of turmeric under Nagaland conditions

A field experiment was conducted in two consecutive years during 2013 and 2014 to evaluate the effect ofintegrated nutrient management on growth, yield and quality of turmeric under Nagaland conditions. Eighteentreatments which include, inorganic fertilizers, organic manures and biofertilizers alone or in combination wereincluded in the experiment. Results revealed that application of different levels of fertilizers, organic manuresand Azospirillum either alone or in combination significantly increased growth, yield and quality of turmeric ascompared to control. The maximum plant height (83.22 cm), number of leaves plant⁻¹(10.45), leaf area (905.73 cm²), number of tillers clump⁻¹ (3.22), chlorophyll content (0.97 mg g⁻¹ fresh weight), number of primary fingers clump⁻¹(8.50), number of secondary fingers clump⁻¹(19.50), fresh rhizome yield (48.06 t ha⁻¹), cured rhizome yield (8.22 t ha⁻¹) and curcumin content (6.68%) were recorded in the integrated application of 50% NPK + 50%poultry manure + Azospirillum (T₁₇). Maximum uptake of nitrogen (182.25 kg ha⁻¹), phosphorus (50.80 kg ha⁻¹) and potassium (283.98 kg ha⁻¹) were also observed in the same treatment combination. Thus, integrated applicationof 50% NPK + 50% poultry manure + Azospirillum was found to be the best treatment combination for obtaining higher yield with quality turmeric.