Effect of Some Organic Manure on Growth and Yield of Garlic in Greenhouse Condition at Cold Desert High Altitude Ladakh Region

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted to investigate effects of four organic manure sources (vermicompost, poultry manure, sheep & goat manure and cattle FYM) on growth and yield attributing characters of garlic in greenhouse condition during extreme winter months (October to May) at Leh-Ladakh, India with three application rates of organic manures viz. 10, 20 and 30 tons ha^-1.  The results revealed that, organic manure application enhanced plant growth, improved garlic yield and its components viz. no. of cloves per bulb, bulb diameter and weight. Also, with increasing rate of application of organic manures from 10 to 20 tons ha^-1, all growth and yield characters of garlic were improved. Vermicompost and poultry manure had significant effects on plant growth characters viz. plant height, number of leaves per plant, length and width of leaves especially in the T₃ and T₆ treatments. Highest garlic yield (105.03q ha^-1) was achieved in T₆ treatment (poultry manure @ 20 tons ha^-1). Overall, application of organic manures proved to be beneficial for garlic production and its application should be popularized for sustainable agriculture in fragile ecosystem of cold arid desert of Ladakh region.