ISSN 2167-0447
International Journal of Agricultural Sciences ISSN: 2167-0447 Vol. 14 (8), pp. 001-009, August, 2024. Available online at www.internationalscholarsjournals.org © International Scholars Journals
Full Length Research Paper
Impact of Organic Cultivation on Root Yield, Quality, and Soil Biological Health of Orange-Fleshed Sweet Potato (Ipomoea batatas L.)
M. Nedunchezhiyan*1, G. Byju2 and S.N. Dash1
1Regional Centre of Central Tuber Crops Research Institute, Bhubaneswar, Orissa, India
2Central Tuber Crops Research Institute, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India
Accepted 21 July, 2024
Abstract
A field experiment conducted for three consecutive years (2006-08) with different organic manures with or without bioagents revealed higher root yield with the application of green leaf manure (12606 kg/ha) as well as integrated use of organic and inorganic manures (12563 kg/ha). Quality characters like dry matter, starch, and β-carotene content were higher with the application of farmyard manures and other organic manures. At the end of three years, the soil organic carbon content was 0.38% in farmyard manure applied plots compared to 0.31% in control plot. The soil microbial biomass carbon content was increased with the application of organic manures and bioagents. At the end of three seasons, the initial levels of soil enzymes urease, β-glucosidase and phosphatase increased from 1248 to 1352 (µg NH4-Ng-1 soil d-1), 10.7 to 20.0 (µg PNP g-1 soil h-1) and 126 to 295 (µg PNP g-1 soil h-1), respectively in various organic treatment systems. Bio-agents such as Trichoderma, Azospirillum, Azotobacter and phosphorus solubilizing bacteria population build up in the soil was observed when applied along with organic manures.
Keywords: Phosphatase, Quality, Root yield, Sweet potato, Urease, β-glucosidase.