Integrated Nutrient Management in Underground Vegetable Crops

Seminar paper from the year 2017 in the subject Biology - Botany, grade: 3, , course: HORTICULTURE, language: English, abstract: This work focuses on horticulture, more precisely on integrated nutrient management in underground vegetable crops.

Vegetable comprises large number of plants, consumed as leaf, fruits, flowers, stem, roots etc. They are rich in nutrients like carbohydrates, proteins, fats, minerals and vitamins. They are mostly cultivated around the year throughout the country. India is the second largest producer of vegetables next to China in the world. It is cultivated in an area of 9575 ('000' ha) with production of 166608 ('000' MT) with the productivity of 17.40 MT/ha (NHB, 2016). Nowadays, modern agriculture depends heavily on use of chemical fertilizers for boosting crop yield. However, indiscriminate use of fertilizers has an adverse effect on long term soil health and environment which has global attention. The realistic solution is Integrated Nutrient Management system are the combined application of chemical fertilizers, alongwith organic manure, green manure, bio-fertilizer and other organic recyclable materials for crop production.

Vegetable comprises large number of plants, consumed as leaf, fruits, flowers, stem, roots etc. They are rich in nutrients like carbohydrates, proteins, fats, minerals and vitamins. They are mostly cultivated around the year throughout the country. India is the second largest producer of vegetables next to China in the world. It is cultivated in an area of 9575 ('000' ha) with production of 166608 ('000' MT) with the productivity of 17.40 MT/ha (NHB, 2016). Vegetable growing is the most remunerative enterprise as it is adopted on small and marginal holding with high production in short duration. Being a source of farm income, it creates impact on the agricultural development and economy of the country. Vegetables are cheaper source of minerals, vitamins and fiber with high calorific values. There is an increasing demand of vegetables both for domestic as well as for export, which can earn valuable foreign exchange for country.