Journal of Experimental Agriculture International

The present investigation was conducted to investigate the effect of integrated nutrient management on vegetative parameters of China aster cv. Arka Poornima under the mid hills of Himachal Pradesh. The experiment was laid out in simple randomized design (RBD) with eighteen treatments. The experiment was conducted at the Kakhali research farm of Dr. Khem Singh Gill Akal College of Agriculture, Eternal University, Baru Sahib, Himachal Pradesh during kharif season in 2023. For integrated nutrient management eighteen treatments were constituted with three levels of recommend dose of inorganic fertilizers (50, 75 and 100 %) and three biofertilizers viz., Azotobacter, PSB and KSB along with control. The observations for the vegetative parameters plant height (cm) at maturity, numbers of leaves, number of primary branches, number of secondary branches, leaf area per plant, leaf area index and plant spread were recorded and analyzed. The plant height (91.40 cm), No. of leaves (356.13), No. of primary branches (12.40) and secondary branches (33.70) were found maximum in treatment T₁₂ (RDF@75% + Azotobacter + PSB + KSB), while the lowest values were observed in T₀ (control). The highest leaf area (27.49 cm²) was found in T₈ (RDF@75% + Azotobacter), while the leaf area index (12.02) and plant spread (16.57 cm) were found in treatment T₁₁ (RDF@75% + Azotobacter + PSB). The lowest values for leaf area (17.77 cm²), leaf area index (5.48) and plant spread (11.82 cm) were found in treatments T₁₄ (RDF@100% + Azotobacter), T₁₆ (RDF@100% + KSB) and T₁₀ (RDF@75% + KSB), respectively. Therefore, it can be concluded that, application of T₁₂ (RDF@75% + Azotobacter + PSB + KSB) is best for the getting higher production in China aster followed by T₁₁ (RDF@75% + Azotobacter + PSB). This study will reduce the use of inorganic fertilizer without polluting the soil and environment.