Agronomical Performance of High Yielding Cultivar of Eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) Grown in Sewage Sludge Amended Soil

Abstract

A field study was conducted to assess the agronomical performance of eggplant (Solanum melongenacv

Use of Integrated Nutrient Management to Enhance Soil Fertility and Crop Yield of Hybrid Cultivar of Brinjal (Solanum melongena L.) Under Field Conditions

“…Characteristics of vermicompost, sugarcane pressmud, farm yard manure and sewage sludge , Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn and Zn are considered as essential macro and micro nutrients and, necessary for the optimum agronomical performance of crop plants [8]. The availability of these parameters in the soil indicates the fertility of the soil [10,13] and various organic, inorganic and bio-fertilizers are applied in the soil to maintain their availability for agricultural crops [17,32].…”

“…Eggplant, due to its texture and bulk, can be used as a meat substitute in vegan and vegetarian cuisine. The juice of eggplant significantly reduces weight, plasma cholesterol levels, and aortic cholesterol content [8,10].…”

“…During the study, ten nutrients treatments viz., without nutrient (control) (T 1 ), recommended dose of fertilizer (RDF) (T 2 ), vermicompost @ 5 t ha -1 (T 3 ), sugarcane pressmud compost (SPC) @ 5 t ha -1 (T 4 ), farm yard manure (FYM) @ 12. [8,10]. It is a delicate, tropical perennial often cultivated as a tender or half-hardy annual in temperate climates [10].…”

“…It also contains important vitamins like A, B 6 , C, D and calcium, iron and magnesium. Eggplant is used in the cuisine of many countries [8]. It is widely used in its native Indian cuisine, like vegetable, chutney, curry, and pickle.…”

“…The appropriate environment must exist for nutrients to be available to a particular crop in the right form, in the correct absolute and relative amounts, and at the right time for high yields to be realized in the short and long term [6][7][8][9]. At present, the environmental drawbacks of heavy fertilizer use are confined to some developed countries and a few regions in developing countries [6,10].…”