Impact of Integrated Nutrient Management on Vegetative Characteristics and Yield of Bottle Gourd [Lagenaria siceraria (Mol.) Standl.] cv. Pusa Naveen

Abstract

The present investigation entitled “Impact of Integrated Nutrient Management on Growth and Yield of Bottle Gourd [Lagenaria siceraria (Mol.) Standl.] cv. Pusa Naveen” was conducted during the Kharif season of 2024 at the Horticulture Experimental Field, College of Agriculture, RVSKVV, Gwalior (M.P.). The main objective of the study was to evaluate the influence of integrated nutrient management (INM) on growth, yield and quality attributes of bottle gourd. The experiment comprised thirteen treatments replicated thrice in a Randomized Block Design (RBD). Among the treatments, T13- 75% RDF + Vermicompost (12 t/ha) + Azotobacter (5 kg/ha) + PSB (5 kg/ha) + KSB (5 lit/ha) recorded significantly superior performance across all observed parameters. In contrast, the control treatment T1 (100% RDF alone) exhibited the least performance. Treatment T13 showed remarkable improvements in morphological parameters such as germination percentage, vine length, number of primary branches per vine, number of nodes per vine up to the first male and female flowers and internodal length. In terms of phenological traits, it also showed first appearance of male and female flower. Yield attributes including days to first picking, number of fruits per plant, fruit length and diameter, pedicel length and average fruit weight were significantly influenced by the application of different INM combinations. The highest values for all these yield parameters were observed in treatment T13, while the lowest were recorded in the control (T1), confirming the beneficial effects of integrated nutrient management in enhancing the overall performance of bottle gourd.