Organic Fertilizer Applications for Improved Growth and Yield of Summer Squash in Nepal

Year 2025, Volume: 9 Issue: 2, 93 - 103

Daurik Lal Pandit , Dipesh Kumar Yadav , Bibek Kumar Sah , Dipesh Mandal , Nitesh Adhikari

Abstract

Summer squash is a valuable and widely consumed vegetable crop in Nepal. Despite its growing demand, productivity remains below potential, largely due to imbalanced or inadequate fertilizer practices and a lack of region-specific recommendations for sustainable nutrient management. Moreover, while various organic and inorganic fertilizers are used by farmers, comprehensive studies comparing their individual and integrated effects on summer squash growth and yield under Nepalese agro-climatic conditions are limited. To address this research gap, a field experiment was conducted from March to May 2025 at a farmer’s field in Inaruwa, Koshi Rural Municipality, Sunsari District, located in the eastern Terai region of Nepal. The experiment was laid out in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications and eight treatments, using the summer squash variety Sondo V. Findings revealed that nutrient management significantly affected all measured traits. The NPK treatment produced the highest number of leaves and lateral branches per plant and also resulted in the maximum number of fruits per plant (6.56), greatest individual fruit weight (915.94 g), highest fruit yield per plant (6038.64 g), and overall yield (45.28 t/ha). Organic and integrated treatments (FYM, ½ NPK + ½ FYM, vermicompost, and poultry manure) performed comparably, indicating their potential to enhance productivity through gradual nutrient release and improved soil health. The control treatment consistently showed the lowest values across all parameters, highlighting the negative impact of nutrient deficiency. This study fills a critical knowledge gap by providing comparative data on the efficacy of various nutrient sources in summer squash production in eastern Nepal. Future research should explore the long-term effects of integrated nutrient management and its economic feasibility for smallholder farmers across different agro-ecological zones.

Keywords

Summer squash , Sustainability , Nutrient management , Organic fertilizers , Jeevamrut

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