Effect of different organic manures on growth and yield of mulberry.

摘要

Mulberry (Morus sp.) is cultivated mainly for its foliage and is the sole food for the silkworm, Bombyx mori L. Due to the development of high yielding mulberry varieties (S36 and V1), requirement of chemical fertilizers and water has been increased in recent past to achieve higher yield. As a result of advanced research, the high yielding mulberry variety viz., V1 under irrigated condition has been developed and can produce 60-65 MT leaf/ha/yr over the conventional varieties (Mysore local and K2) which need high dose of chemical fertilizer @ 350:140:140 kg/ha/yr. The extensive use of chemical fertilizers and its improper selection in mulberry cultivation cause a great concern on the survivability of soil fauna and flora besides the soil health. Thus, the cost of mulberry leaf production becomes high and sustained yield of cocoon production is adversely affected. Hence, the present experiment was conducted to study the effect of various organic and biological sources of nutrients as supplement to chemical fertilizers in mulberry cultivation as a means of organic farming. The study revealed that there was no significant difference in growth and yield of mulberry in the treatments where all the nutrients were supplied through different organic and biological sources as against the control besides the lesser cost of production. Thus, the present study suggests an ample scope of organic farming in mulberry cultivation to make sericulture more sustainable.