International Journal of Basic and Applied Agricultural Research [Vol.12(1), January - April 2014] 5 Effect of NPK, vermicompost and vermiwash on growth and yield of Okra D. P. SHARMA, JAGAT LAL PRAJAPATI and AKHILESH TIWARI 1 1 Department of Horticulture, College of Agriculture, Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Jawaharlal Nehru Krishi Vishwa Vidyalaya, Jabalpur-482004 (M.P.) ABSTRACT : The experiment was carried out to see the effect of NPK, vermicompost and various sprays of vermiwash on growth, yield and economics of okra var. Kashi Pragati. The treatment combination vermicompost @ 5 t/ha + vermiwash 5 sprays at 10 days interval after 30 DAS showed maximum plant height (128.09 cm), nodes per plant (40.80), internodal length (8.03 cm), days taken to 50% lowering (46 days) and nodes to irst lowering (8.20). Among the fruit characters, number of fruits per plant (21.36), fruit length (13.31 cm), fruit girth (17.01 mm), fruit weight (14.33 g), fruiting span (48.66 days), fruit yield per plant (134.48 g) and yield per hectare (74.62 q) were observed maximum by the application of vermicompost @ 5 t/ha + vermiwash 5 sprays at 10 days interval after 30 DAS. However, the maximum C:B ratio of 1:1.94 was obtained by application of Recommended dose of NPK + vermiwash as soil treatment + vermiwash 3 sprays at 10 days interval after 30 DAS followed by the treatment vermicompost @ 5 t/ha + vermiwash 5 sprays at 10 days interval after 30 DAS. Key words:Economics, okra, vermicompost, vermiwash, yield. Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus (L) Moench) locally known as bhindi is important annual vegetable crop grown in tropical and sub-tropical regions for its tender fruits. At present, imprudent use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and fungicides are responsible for deterioration of soil health and ultimately our green plants. Organic manures on the other hand are eco- friendly and cheaper source of nutrients. Therefore, to maintain the soil fertility and to supply plant nutrients in balanced proportion for optimum growth, yield and quality of crop, an integrated approach is to be practiced under speciic agro-ecological situation through the combined use of inorganic and organic sources of plant nutrients. Application of vermicompost and vermiwash along with recommended dose of NPK inorganic fertilizers or alone has proven the signiicant increase in yield and yield contributing parameters of okra and reported by many researchers (Kulkarni et al., 2004, Paramasivan et al., 2006, Maithy and Tripathi, 2009 and Gorakhnath and Singh, 2009). During the last decade, fertilizer cost, soil health, sustainability and pollution have led to a renewed interest in the use of organic manures. The integrated use may help in improving productivity and quality of okra. Looking to the facts, the present study was carried out with the objective to see the effect of combined application of recommended dose of NPK and various sprays of vermiwash and the combination of vermicompost and vermiwash on growth and yield characteristics of okra. MATERIALS AND METHODS The experiment was carried out at Vegetable Research Farm, Department of Horticulture, Jawaharlal Nehru Krishi Vishwa Vidyalaya, Jabalpur (M.P.) during 2010-11. The okra variety Kashi Pragati (VRO-6) was used for experiment. The soil of the experimental ield was sandy loam and the chemical analysis showed 238.36 kg/ha available nitrogen, 57.09 kg/ha available phosphorus, 304.32 kg/ha available potash, 0.56% organic carbon and 6.8 pH of the soil. A total of 16 treatments were subjected to randomized complete block design (RCBD) with 3 replications. The details of treatments were T1 – seed treatment with vermiwash, T2 – vermicompost @ 5t/ha, T3 – Recommended NPK (150:80:100 kg/ha), T4 – Rec. NPK + vermiwash 1 spray at 10 days interval after 30 days of sowing, T5 – Rec. NPK + vermiwash 2 sprays at 10 days interval after 30 days of sowing, T6 – Rec. NPK + vermiwash 3 sprays at 10 days interval after 30 days of sowing, T7 – Rec. NPK + vermiwash 4 sprays at 10 days interval after 30 days of sowing, T8 – Rec. NPK + vermiwash 5 sprays at 10 days interval after 30 days of sowing, T9 – vermicompost