USG and prilled urea based fertilizer performance: a comparative study for broccoli production

Abstract

The experiments were conducted at the Horticulture Research Centre (HRC), Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI), Joydebpur, Gazipur and RARS, Akbarpur, Moulvibazar during 2013-14 and 2014-15 to evaluate the comparative performance of different Urea Super Granule (USG) and prilled urea (PU) doses on broccoli and to select the suitable fertilizer package(s) for broccoli production. The experiment was laid out in a Randomized Complete Block Design with three replications. Eight treatments of different fertilizer doses were considered as: T₁= N₁₅₀P₅₀K₈₀S₃₀Zn₅B₂Mo₁ kg ha^-1 (N as PU); T₂= N₁₅₀P₅₀K₈₀S₃₀Zn₅B₂Mo₁ kg ha^-1 (N as USG); T₃= N₁₈₀P₅₃K₈₃S₂₀Zn₂B₁Mo_0.8 kg ha^-1 (N as PU); T₄= N₁₄₆P₂₂K₆₂S₂₀Zn₂B₁M_0.8 kg ha^-1 + 3 t ha^-1 PM (Poultry manure) (N as PU); T₅= N₁₂₆P₂₂K₆₂S₂₀Zn₂B₁M_0.8 kg ha^-1 + 3 ton PM (N as USG); T₆= N₁₃₈P₄₆K₅₈S₂₀Zn₂B₁M_0.8 kg ha^-1 + 5 t ha^-1 CD (Cowdung) (N as USG); T₇= N₁₁₆P₂₂K₂₀S₁₀Zn_1.6B₁Mo_0.8 kg ha^-1 for Joydebpur, Gazipur ((N as PU) (Soil test based) and N₁₁₀P₃₃K₂₃S₁₅Zn_1.6B₁Mo_0.8 kg ha^-1 for Akbarpur, Moulvibazar (N as PU) (Soil test based) and T₈= Control (native nutrient). Among the treatments, T₅ showed the highest marketable yield (15.91-15.93 t ha^-1 and 12.64-15.25 t ha^-1 for Joydebpur and Akbarpur, respectively) followed by T₃ (13.63-15.04 t ha^-1 and 10.35-14.55 t ha^-1 for Joydebpur and Akbarpur, respectively). The treatment T₅ gave the maximum benefit-cost ratio (BCR) (4.40-4.25 and 3.50-4.02) followed by T₃ (BCR 3.91- 4.12 and 2.97-3.93 for Joydebpur and Akbarpur, respectively). Among the treatments, 126-22-62-20-2-1-0.8 kg ha^-1 of N-P-K-S-Zn-B-Mo along with 3 t ha^-1 PM (N as USG) and 180-53-83-20-2-1-0.8 kg ha^-1 of N-P-K-S-Zn-B-Mo without organic manure (N as PU) were found effective fertilizer packages for sustainable broccoli production for these areas.

Bangladesh J. Agril. Res. 49(4): 325-348, December 2024