M. M. Zaman
Soil Resources Development Institute, Farmgate, Dhaka,
M. A. H. Chowdhury
Department of Agricultural Chemistry, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh-2202, Bangladesh
Tanzin Chowdhury
Department of Agronomy, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh-2202, Bangladesh
Stevia, Poultry manure, Chemical fertilizer, Leaf yield, Stevioside content
Department of Agricultural Chemistry, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh
Crop-Soil-Water Management
Fertilizer, Manures
A pot experiment was conducted at the net house of the Department of Agricultural Chemistry, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh during March to May, 2011 to investigate the integrated effects of poultry manure (PM) and chemical fertilizer (CF) on the growth, leaf biomass yield and stevioside content of stevia. Two contrasting soils (acid and non-calcareous) were used. The physical and chemical properties of the soils can be seen from Zaman et al. (2015). Approximately 40 kg soils from each location (Madhupur for acid soil and BAU farm for non-calcareous soil) were collected from 0-15cm depth of selected fallow land for the experiment. The samples were made free from plant residues and other extraneous materials, air dried, ground and sieved through a 2mm sieve. Five hundred gram (500g) sieved soil from each source was preserved in a polythene bag and the physical and chemical properties were analyzed following standard procedure (Page et al. 1982). Eight kg processed soil was taken in each earthen pot of 23 cm in height with 30 cm diameter at top and 18 cm at bottom leaving 3 cm from the top. In vitro produced 45 day old stevia seedlings (Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni) were collected from brac Biotechnology Laboratory, Joydebpur, Gazipur and used for the experiment. One stevia seedling was planted in each pot during 1st week of March, 2011. Nitrogen, P, K, S, Zn and B were applied as basal doses @ 250, 100, 200, 30, 3 and 1 kg ha-1 from TSP, MoP, gypsum, zinc sulphate and boric acid, respectively as chemical fertilizer (CF). Sulphur rate was adjusted from both gypsum and zinc sulphate. Following treatment combinations of PM and CF were used for the study.
The experiment was laid out in completely randomized design with three replications. Total number of pots was 36 (6 treatment X 2 soil X 3 replication). Intercultural operations like irrigation, soil loosening, weeding, insect pest control, removal of flowers etc. were done as and when necessary. Data were collected at 15, 30, 45 and 60 days after planting (DAP). The crop was destructively harvested at 60 DAP. After harvesting the crop, leaf samples were separated, cleaned and dried at 60OC for 72 hours, weighed, ground and stored. Plant height, branches plant-1, leaves plant-1, leaf area plant-1, dry leaf weight of stevia leaves were studied. Stevioside content of stevia leaf was determined following the method of Kolb et. al.(2001). The results obtained were subjected to statistical analysis using standard method (Steel et al., 1997). The differences among the treatment means were compared by using Duncan Multiple Range test (Gomez and Gomez, 1984).
J. Bangladesh Agril. Univ. 13(2): 175–182, 2015 ISSN 1810-3030
Journal