Impact of vermicompost and composted farmyard manure on growth and yield of garlic (Allium stivum L.) field crop

The efforts were made to study the impact of vermicomposted and composted farmyard manure (FYM) along with some combination of NPK fertilizers, on field crop of garlic (Allium stivum L.). A total of six experimental plots were prepared: T1 (recommended doze of NPK), T2 (vermicompost @ 15t/ha), T3 (20 t/ha vermicompost), T4 (15t/ha vermicompost + 50 % NPK), T5 (15t/ha farmyard manure), and T6 (farmyard manure 15t/ha + 100% recommended NPK) to test the plant production patterns, under field conditions. The maximum range of some plant parameters i.e. root length, shoot length, leaf length, fruit weight, number of cloves in garlic fruit and number of leaves per plant was in the T4 treatment plot. Also, the average fruit weight was approximately 26.4% greater in T4 than recommended NPK treatment plot (T1). The vermicomposted FYM showed a comparatively better result of plant production than composted manure. The plant growth results indicate the presence of some growth-promoting substances in worm-processed material (vermicompost). The vermicomposted FYM also contained a considerable amount of some essential plant micronutrients e.g. Cu (0.973 mg kg^-1), Fe (8.68 mg kg^-1), Mn (13.64 mg kg^-1) and Zn (16.91 g kg^-1) that might be responsible for better plant growth and productivity. This study suggests that vermicomposted manures may be a potential source of plant nutrients for sustainable crop production.