ROLE OF VERMICOMPOST FOR SUSTAINABLE FLUE-CURED VIRGINIA TOBACCO ( NICOTIANA TABACUM ) PRODUCTION IN KARNATAKA LIGHT SOILS

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted for three consecutive seasons (2005-06 to 2007-08) to study the influence of graded doses of vermicompost (2,4, & 6 t/ha) on the crop growth, yield parameters, leaf quality and root-knot incidence in Flue-cured Virginia (FCV) tobacco grown in the light soils of Southern Transition Zone of Karnataka (STZ Zone No.7). The experiment was conducted with five treatments and four replications in a Randomized Block Design on red sandy loam soils, low in organic carbon, medium to high in available phosphorus and potassium status. Application of vermicompost @ 4-6 t/ha significantly influenced all the crop growth parameters like plant height, number of leaves and leaf expansion at 60 days after planting. Application of vermicopmost @ 2, 4 and 6 t/ha increased the cured leaf production by 8.4, 13.3 and 13.0% and top grade equivalent by 9.5, 15.5 and 14.5%, respectively over recommended NPK alone. Among all the treatments, vermicompost @ 4 t/ha along with recommended NPK recorded the maximum cured leaf yield and significantly higher top grade equivalent yield compared to the recommended FYM application (8 t/ha) + NPK schedule. The root-knot incidence (RKI) was also significantly decreased by the application of vermicompost @ 4-6 t/ha. The study revealed that application of vermicompost @4 t/ha along with the recommended NPK (60:40:120 kg/ha) was found to be ideal for maximizing the productivity and quality of FCV tobacco in Karnataka Light Soils.