RESPONSE OF ORGANIC MANURES ON GROWTH AND YIELD OF MANGO (Mangifera indica L.) CV. DASHEHARI Mohit Kumar and Rajesh Kumar* Department of Horticulture, G. B. Pant University of Agriculture & Technology, Pantnagar – 263 145 (Uttarakhand) *E-mail: kamboj783@yahoo.com ABSTRACT: The present investigation was carried out at Horticulture Research Centre, Patharchatta, G. B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar. The experiment was laid out with thirteen treatments and three replication in Randomized Block Design. Maximum tree height was observed with the application of poultry manure 25 kg per tree, whereas, maximum tree girth was recorded with application of neem cake 30 kg per tree during both the years. Minimum number of fruits and fruit yield (kg) per tree was recorded in control, while maximum number of fruits and fruit yield (kg) per tree with application of 75 kg vermicompost per tree during both the years. Application of different organic manures on mango trees is useful for improving the growth and yield characteristics. Keywords: Mango, organic manures, growth, yield. Mango is the main fruit of Asia and this fruit has developed its own importance all over the world. Being an useful and delicious fruit, it was the part of culture and religion since long time. From ancient time, it has been favourite of the kings and commoners because of its nutritive value, taste, attractive fragrance and health promoting qualities and now, it is recognized as one of the best fruits in world market. As many as 63 countries of the world have been growing mango but India is still a leading nation in area and production of mango (Chattopadhyay, 1). Management of mineral nutrition of fruit trees is an important practice in an orchard. In fact, intensive mango culture is not possible without adequate manuring. Indiscriminate use of chemicals causes biological imbalance leading to soil deterioration and environmental pollution. The ever increasing cost of chemical fertilizers and decline in soil health due to excessive dependence on chemical inputs left us with other option of utilizing biological inputs like organic manures. Organic manures have been sought to be one of the answers to restore the soil health apart from solving nutritional problem of plants. Keeping these points in mind, the present investigation was, therefore, undertaken to study the response of organic manures on growth, yield and quality of mango cv. Dashehari. MA TERIALS AND METHODS The experiment was conducted at Horticulture Research Centre, Patharchatta, G. B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, Uttarakhand during the years 2007-08 and 2008-09. The experiment was conducted on 18 years old mango trees of cv. Dashehari consisting of thirteen treatments viz., T 1 -Control, T 2 -FYM 100 Kg/ tree, T 3 -FYM 125 Kg/ tree, T 4 -FYM 150 kg/tree, T 5 -Vermicompost 25 kg/tree, T 6 -Vermi- compost 50 kg/tree, T 7 -Vermicompost 75 kg/tree, T 8 -Poultry manure 25 kg/tree, T 9 -Poultry manure 50 kg/tree, T 10 -Poultry manure 75 kg/tree, T 11 -Neem cake 10 Kg/tree, T 12 -Neem cake 20 Kg/tree and T 13 -Neem cake 30 kg/tree in ‘Randomized Block Design’ with three replications. The total number of trees included in the experiment was 39. All the selected trees were almost uniform in growth and vigour. The trees were given uniform cultural operations during the course of investigation. All treatments were applied on 15 December 2007 and 2008. Full dose of farm yard manure, vermicompost, poultry manure and neem cake were applied as basal. No manure was applied to the control. Observations on tree height, tree girth, tree volume and shoot length of each plant were recorded during winter month Received : 24.12.2012 Accepted : 20.1.2013 HortFlora Research Spectrum, 2(1): 64-67 (Jan.-March 2013) ISSN : 2250-2823