Response of Organic and Chemical Fertilizers to the Establishment and Growth of Eucalyptus in Sodic Land of Uttar Pradesh, India

Abstract

An experiment was, taken up to evaluate the relative efficiency of organic residues in the form of oil cakes and to compare the effect of chemical fertilizers and organic residues on the growth performance of Eucalyptus planted on sodic soil at Harkumau village in District Sultanpur of Eastern Uttar Pradesh (U.P.). Four oil cakes viz., Neem cake, Sunflower cake, Mahua cake and Mustard cake in different doses, along with FYM and chemical fertilizer were tested. When the effect of different organic cakes was compared with chemical fertilizer, maximum increase in height over chemical fertilizer treatment was observed in Neem cake 1.0 kg/pit (91.09 %) followed by Mustard cake 1.5 kg/pit treatment (82.57 %). However, the maximum increase in collar diameter over chemical fertilizers, was shown by Mustard cake 1.5 kg/pit treatment (674.49 %) followed by Neem cake 1.0 kg/pit treatment (368.72 %). In comparison to chemical fertilizer, the Neem cake 1.0 kg/pit treatment caused better survival (34.30 %) followed by Mahua cake 1.5 kg/pit treatment (32.76 %).