Abstracto

Investigations on the Effects of Different Types of Organic Manures and Mulching Materials on the Growth, Yield and Quality of Carrot ( Daucus carota L.)

Amanuel Kuma, Fekadu Talto

Carrot is a root vegetable crop belonging to the Umbelliferea family. The management of agronomic practices is an important factor that strongly affects the growth, yield and quality of carrots. A field experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of different types of organic manure and mulching materials on the growth, yield and quality of carrots. The study consisted of four organic manures (control, 20 t PM ha^-1, 20 t FYM ha^-1 and 20 t mixed manure (10 t PM+10 t FYM) ha^-1) and three types of mulching (no mulching, sawdust mulching and grass mulching) laid in the Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD), with four replications in a factorial arrangement. Analysis was performed via the SAS software package. The root diameter, fresh weight, dry weight, yield and total yield were significantly (P ≤ 0.05) affected by the interaction effect of organic manure and mulching materials. Among the different combinations, 20 t of mixed manure (10 t PM+10 t FYM) with grass mulch ha^-1 surpassed all the other combinations in terms of maximum root length (22.45 cm), root diameter (6.60 cm), fresh weight (179.25 g), dry weight (26.16 g), marketable root yield (27.90 t ha^-1) and total root yield (33.92 t ha^-1) during the experimental year. Similarly, PM with grass mulching also produced better results pertaining to carrot growth and yield.