International Journal of Horticulture, 2024, Vol.14, No.2, 59-65 http://hortherbpublisher.com/index.php/ijh 60 to various factors. Since most of the soil is going to be depleted against the nutrients due to the continuous use of chemical fertilizer and imbalanced nutrition. The excessive and unbalanced use of chemical fertilizers has led to various issues such as a decrease in soil organic matter, rising salinity and sodicity, increased soil pollution, and heightened risks from pests and diseases (Chakrarborti and Singh, 2004). Organic manures are very good source for the growth and development of microorganisms. Organic fertilizers such as farmyard manure, vermicompost, poultry manure, and oilcake aid in enhancing soil structure, promoting better aeration, and increasing the soil's capacity to hold water. Further, it boosts microbial activity, facilitating enhanced biological processes that aid the plant in obtaining both macro and micronutrients, thus increasing nutrient solubility. Moreover, organic manures also enhance the utilization efficiency of inorganic fertilizers (Singh and Biswas, 2000). Integrated use of organic and inorganic fertilizers could help to uphold crop yield strength through the alleviation of deficiencies of nutrients, increasing the efficiency of the applied nutrients, and offering a favorable soil atmosphere (Muddukumar, 2007). Integrated nutrient management aims to sustain crop productivity by supplying essential plant nutrients while minimizing harm to soil health and the environment (Balasubramanian, 1999) . There is a scope for improving the production potential of this crop by use of organic manures, inorganic manures and biofertilizers. Hence,The main objective of the present study is to assess the effect of integrated nutrient management on the growth and yield of chickpeas. 1 Materials and Methods The experiment was conducted at the Research Farm of Agro Nine Company Pvt. Ltd., Madi, Chitwan, Geographically situated at 27°26’N latitude and 84°18’E longitude at an altitude of 200 m above mean sea level. The weather parameters were optimum for the chickpea crop. There were no drought weeks during the crop growth period. The soil is identified as sandy clay loam with poor aggregation. The pH of the soil is 7.6. The Dhanush variety of Chickpea was subjected to a Randomized Block Design (RBD) experimental setup. This design encompassed 12 treatments replicated across 3 blocks. The dimensions of the plots were as follows: a gross size of 5.0 m × 3.6 m, and a net size of 4.0 m × 2.7 m, with a spacing of 1.5 m between replications and 1.0 m between individual plots. The rows were spaced 30 cm apart, with plants spaced 10 cm from one another. The seeding rate applied was 80 kg/ha, while the recommended fertilizer dosage included NPK at 20:40:20 kg/ha (https://molmac.lumbini.gov.np/publications/46). The experiment consisted of twelve treatments as follows: T1 with 125% RDF, T2 with RDF alone, T3 with RDF supplemented with 25% FYM on a nitrogen basis, T4 with RDF supplemented with 25% vermicompost on a nitrogen basis, T5 with RDF supplemented with 25% Poultry Manure on a nitrogen basis, T6 with 50% RDF and 50% FYM on a nitrogen basis, T7 with 50% RDF and 50% vermicompost on a nitrogen basis, T8 with 50% RDF and 50% Poultry Manure on a nitrogen basis, T9 with 75% RDF and 25% FYM on a nitrogen basis, T10 with 75% RDF and 25% vermicompost on a nitrogen basis, T11 with 75% RDF and 25% Poultry Manure on a nitrogen basis, and T12 serving as the control group. The FYM (0.5% N, 0.21% P2O5 and 0.45% K2O), vermicompost (1.31% N, 0.9% P2O5 and 1.40% K2O) and Poultry manure (1.2% N, 0.95% P2O5 and 0.6%K2O) were incorporated into the soil as per treatments 5 days before sowing. Recommended doses of fertilizers were applied in the form of DAP and murate of potash as per treatments. Five plants in each plot were selected and were tagged and numbered. Observations for each treatment were taken on these plants. The observations were made on the growth and yield of the Chickpea. Pre-harvest studies like Plant height, Number of branches, Number of compound leaves, Number of nodules and Number of pods were studied. Similarly, Post-harvest studies like Grain yield, Stover yield, Biological yield, Test weight and Harvest Index were studied.
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