Effect of organic amendments and foliar nutrition on yield and economics of sesame cultivation

Abstract

A field experiment entitled “Effect of organic amendments and foliar nutrition on yield and economics of sesame cultivation” was conducted during Kharif 2025 at the College of Agriculture, Vellayani, Kerala. The experiment was laid out in a randomized block design with nine treatments and three replications to evaluate the effect of organic amendments and foliar nutrition on enhancing the productivity of summer-grown sesame in Onattukara Sandy Plain. Among the treatments, significantly higher number of capsules per plant (65.28), the number of seeds per capsule (74.40), and grain yield per hectare (629.42 kg ha-1), was recorded by T9 (50% soil test-based RDN +FYM at 2.5 t ha-1 + biochar 2.5 t ha-1+ foliar spray of 0.5% 19-19-19 (30 DAS) and 0.5% secondary and micronutrient mixture (45 DAS) which was comparable to T8. The highest benefit-cost ratio was recorded for T8 (50% soil test-based RDN +FYM at 2.5 t ha-1 + coir pith compost 2.5 t ha-1+ foliar spray of 0.5% 19-19-19 (30 DAS) and 0.5% secondary and micronutrient mixture (45 DAS). The present study revealed that application of farmyard manure and coir pith compost at 2.5 t ha-1, along with 50% soil test-based Recommended dose of nutrients and foliar spray of 0.5% 19-19-19 (30 DAS) and 0.5% secondary and micronutrient mixture significantly improved the yield and yield attributes of sesame and can be recommended for enhancing the productivity and profitability of sesame in Onattukara Sandy Plains.