Abstract:
Excessive use of chemical fertilizers causes many environmental, social, and health problems. It
is possible to avoid adverse conditions by using organic fertilizers but there are some
shortcomings in providing the plant with the required nutrients using only organic fertilizers.
Therefore, the integration of chemical fertilizers with organic fertilizers is one of the most
applicable methods identified. ‘Panchagavya’ is a blend of five products (milk (107.5 mL/L),
dung (250 g/L), urine (250 mL/L), ghee (35.5 g/L) and curd (71.25 mL/L)) obtained from a cow
which act 75% as a fertilizer and 25% as a pesticide. In this experiment, the ordinary used
‘Panchagavya’ mixture was slightly modified by adding dry yeast as a fermenting agent and
nutrient source which accelerate the fermentation process and pre trials were conducted to
select the suitable concentration. Thus, this study was designed to identify an integrated plant
nutrient management system for Capsicum annuum variety Muria-358 F1 cultivation in
polytunnel by adding “Newly Modified Panchagavya” (NMP) as the organic fertilizer and
commercially available Albert solution as a chemical fertilizer. The experiment was conducted in
the polytunnel in Banadarawela from February 2019 to May 2019. Completely Randomized
Design (CRD) was used with three replicates. Each replicate consisted of 6 plants and water
(Control- T1), 3% NMP (T2), 5% NMP (T3), Albert solution (T4) and 50% of 3% NMP + 50% of
Albert solution (T5) applied as treatments. According to the study, significantly (P<0.05) the
highest average plant height in five weeks after planting, average stem diameter in six and seven
weeks after planting, fresh and dry weight of roots and yield were recorded from the plants
treated T4compared to the other treatments except treated T5. There was no significant
difference between T4 and T5and T5. Further, the highest chlorophyll content and number of
lateral branches per plant was recorded from the plant treated with T5 at the flowering stage of
plants. The results revealed that the application of 50% of 3% NMP + 50% of Albert solution is
an eco-friendly integrated nutrient management system for C. annum cultivation in polytunnel
which is reducing 50% of chemical fertilizers.
