Effect of farmyard manure and boron on cauliflower productivity in an acidic Entisol of Eastern Himalayan flood plains

Abstract

Adoption of a high analysis synthetic fertilizer-based modern agricultural system has aggravated problems of micronutrient deficiencies like boron (B). Elevating organic carbon (OC) content in soil is assumed to be effective to deal with such constraints. This study conducted for two seasons aimed to evaluate interactive effect of farm yard manure (FYM) and B on yield of cauliflower and residual soil B status in inherently B deficient acidic Entisol. The field experiment was laid down in randomized block design with thirteen treatment combinations of FYM and B. According to the results FYM and soil borax application significantly influenced curd diameter (CD), curd yield, curd B uptake, residual soil B content, and soil OC content over control and single-dose foliar spray. FYM at 20 t ha⁻¹ with borax at 5 kg ha⁻¹ turned out as the best treatment combination in terms of curd yield (24.19 t ha⁻¹), apparent boron recovery (ABR) (10.01%), and boron use efficiency (BUE) (3448 kg kg⁻¹). Hot water was found more efficient over hot CaCl₂ to extract soil B. The results suggest the feasibility of using organic manure with B fertilizer to improve soil properties and cauliflower productivity.

Keywords:

• Acid soils
• boron
• boron extraction
• cauliflower
• farmyard manure