INTEGRATED USE OF BIOSLURRY AND CHEMICAL FERTILIZERS FOR VEGETABLE PRODUCTION

Low organic matter content is one of the most important contributing factors for poor fertility status of Pakistani soils. Bioslurry, a by-product from the biogas plant, can successfully be used to improve crop productivity and soil health. A study was conducted to assess the integrated use of bioslurry and chemical fertilizers for improving the yield of vegetables. For this purpose, seven treatments i.e., control (recommended dose of NPK@ 55-76-0 kg ha^-1 for spinach, and NPK @ 125-75-60 kg ha^-1 for chilli), liquid slurry on the basis of recommended dose (RD) of N, dried slurry on the basis of RD of N , farm yard manure on the basis of RD of N, Half of the RD of N from chemical fertilizer and half from liquid slurry, Half of the RD of N from chemical fertilizer and half from dried slurry, Half of the RD of N from chemical fertilizer and half from farm yard manure, were applied before sowing of spinach and chilli and all the organic material was well mixed with soil. The results revealed that the highest yield (56.0 t ha^-1) of spinach (total two cuttings) and chilli (3.06 t ha^-1) was obtained with chemical fertilizer which was at par where half of the RD of N from chemical fertilizers and half from liquid slurry was applied. The results of the combined use of liquid slurry and chemical fertilizers were significantly better than those of liquid slurry alone. The plant analysis showed that total N, P, K, Zn, Cu, Fe and Mn contents were improved significantly by integrated use of bio-slurry with fertilizers.