Influence of INM on growth, yield and quality of papaya (Carica papaya L.) cv. red lady

Introduction

Papaya (Carica papaya L.), also known as papaw, is a fast growing, short-lived, perennial herbaceous fruit crop that is typically single stemmed. It belongs to the family Caricaceae and has gained considerable importance among fruit crops in recent years due to its ease of cultivation, early bearing, quick economic returns, and adaptability to a wide range of soil and climatic conditions. Consequently, papaya is widely cultivated across tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Papaya is considered a unique and complex fruit crop from botanical, genetic, cytogenetic, and horticultural perspectives. It is indigenous to southern Mexico and Costa Rica and was later introduced into India through Malacca. In India, papaya is extensively cultivated for both fresh fruit consumption and Papain extraction. The crop occupies an area of approximately 1.48 lakh ha, with a production of about 5.86 million tones.

Materials and Methods

The experiment was conducted at the Department of Horticulture, College of Agriculture, PJTSAU, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad, for two consecutive seasons (2014-15 and 2015-16). The trial was laid out in a randomized block design (RBD) with ten treatments and three replications. The treatments details as follows: T₁-Recommended Dose of Fertilizers (RDF: 200 g N, 200 g P₂O₅, and 250 g K₂O per plant); T₂ -RDF + 20 kg FYM per plant; T₃ -RDF + 10 kg Vermicompost per plant; T₄ -RDF + 5 kg Neem cake per plant; T₅ -RDF + 20 kg FYM + 100 g Azotobacter + 100 g PSB per plant; T₆ -RDF + 10 kg Vermicompost + 100 g Azotobacter + 100 g PSB per plant; T₇ -RDF + 5 kg Neem cake + 100 g Azotobacter + 100 g PSB per plant; T₈ -75% RDF + 20 kg FYM + 100 g Azotobacter + 100 g PSB per plant; T₉ -75% RDF + 10 kg Vermicompost + 100 g Azotobacter + 100 g PSB per plant; and T₁₀ -75% RDF + 5 kg Neem cake + 100 g Azotobacter + 100 g PSB per plant. Seedlings were planted at an inter and intra row spacing of 2.5 m × 2.5 m spacing. Growth and yield attributes were recorded at regular intervals, including fruit number per plant, fruit length, average fruit weight, pulp thickness and yield per plant. Quality parameters such as total soluble solids (°Brix), sugars, titratable acidity and ascorbic acid content were analysed using standard procedures. The data were statistically analysed following the methods described by Panse and Sukhatme (1985).

Results and Discussion

Effect of Integrated Nutrient Management on Growth Parameters

Integrated nutrient management practices significantly influenced the vegetative growth parameters of papaya, as evident from the data presented in Tables 1. Among the treatments, the best overall performance was observed under T₉ (75% RDF + 10 kg vermicompost + Azotobacter + PSB), which recorded the highest plant height (212.85 cm), maximum trunk girth (52.48 cm) and longest petiole (52.93 cm). These values were distinctly higher than those obtained with RDF alone. The superior growth under integrated nutrition can be explained by better nutrient availability and an active soil biological environment. Vermicompost contributes to improved soil physical condition and nutrient retention, while biofertilizers help mobilize and solubilize nutrients, enhancing uptake efficiency. Similar positive responses of papaya to combined organic, inorganic and microbial inputs have been reported by Aneesa Rani and Sathiamoorthy (1997) [1] and Shivakumar (2010) [11] , with comparable trends documented in banana and other horticultural crops (Jayabaskaran et al., 2001; Bhavidoddi Rahulkumar, 2003) [5,2] . [10,13] and with findings that highlight the contribution of biofertilizers to nutrient uptake and phenology (Suresh et al., 2010) [15] .

Influence on

Effect on Fruit Physiological Traits and Yield

Integrated nutrient treatments significantly influenced fruit characters and yield (Table 2). The highest fruit weight (1929.12 g), pulp thickness (2.34 cm), fruit length (26.34 cm), fruits per plant (32.22) and yield (31.72 kg per plant) were obtained with 75% RDF + 10 kg vermicompost + Azotobacter + PSB. [3] , Ravishankar et al. (2010) [9] and Tandel et al. (2014) [17] .

Effect on Fruit Quality Parameters

Quality attributes were significantly affected by nutrient management (Tables 3). The integrated treatment of 75% RDF + 10 kg vermicompost with biofertilizers resulted in lower physiological loss in weight (9.71%), higher firmness (8.36 kg cm⁻²), reduced spoilage (45.43%) and higher TSS (10.62 °Brix), indicating better fruit quality and keeping behaviour.

The same nutrient combination also produced higher total sugars (10.91%) and ascorbic acid (23.63 mg per 100 g pulp) with comparatively lower titratable acidity. Such improvements are often associated with better carbohydrate synthesis, balanced mineral nutrition and favourable enzymatic activity under integrated nutrient supply. The findings align with reports in papaya by Srivastava (2008) [14] and Yadav et al. (2011) [19] and with similar quality improvements reported under organic/integrated nutrition in other crops (El-Naby, 2000; Sha and Karuppaiah, 2010) [10] .

Overall Performance of Integrated Nutrient Management

The overall results clearly show that replacing a portion of chemical fertilizers with organic manure and biofertilizers improved growth, yield and fruit quality in papaya. The treatment 75% RDF + 10 kg vermicompost + Azotobacter + PSB was consistently superior for most parameters, underscoring the usefulness of INM for sustainable and profitable papaya production. These observations are consistent with earlier studies that reported benefits of integrated nutrient strategies in horticultural crops (Patel, 2008; Srivastava, 2008; Singh et al., 2010) [8,12,14] .

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