Effect of integrated nutrient management on productivity of onion

Allium cepa L. usually refers as "Garden onion" or "bulb onion" is most important bulb crop and widely cultivated as a biennial in North America, Europe and Asia. There are several indigenously available sources of nutrients of organic origin, in which FYM is widely used as organic manure but the availability of FYM is not adequate. Vermicomposting has proved to be an efficient technology for converting waste material into quality manure. These organic manurial sources not only enhance the availability of macronutrient as well as micronutrient but also reduce the use of chemical fertilizer and sustain soil health and productivity in the long run. Biofertilizers are generally used as microbial inoculants, which may help in increasing crop productivity by enhancing efficiency of natural biological nitrogen fixation, solubilization of insoluble form of nutrients and stimulating plant growth. However, there is a lack of information regarding the integrated performance of vermicompost, Azotobacter and PSB in relation to productivity and fertility status of soil under vegetable based cropping system.