Influence of drip nutrigation on the curd quality and nutrient uptake of cauliflower crop cultivation using bioslurry

A field experiment was conducted during rabi-2023-24, on a cauliflower crop under drip irrigation using bioslurry as a nutrient source. Bioslurry was incubated with bio-decomposer and then treated bioslurry filtered through a developed cascade filter system. After filtration, the challenge was reduction in nutrients. Therefore, biofertilizers (Azotobacter, phosphorous solubilizing bacteria, and potassium mobilizing bacteria) along with filtered bioslurry through drip system, soil application and seed treatment were used to compensate the nutrient loss and for crop growth improvement and productivity. The experimental treatments included two Irrigation levels viz, drip irrigation at 80% ETc (I1) and drip irrigation at 100% ETc (I2) and six nutrigation levels including filtered slurry nutrigation alone (N1), filtered bioslurry + biofertilizer nutrigation (N2), filtered bioslurry + biofertilizer soil application (N3), filtered bioslurry + biofertilizer seed treatment (N4), drip fertigation at 100% RDF (N5), control: only drip Irrigation + no fertigation (N6). Drip fertigation at 100% RDF (N5) recorded the highest nitrogen uptake (246.9 kg ha-1),phosphorous uptake (58.6 kg ha-1), potassium uptake (218 kg ha-1) followed by filtered bioslurry + biofertilizer soil application (N3) (211.2, 52.9, 199.9 kg ha-1), filtered bioslurry + biofertilizer nutrigation (N2) (212.3, 52.7, 198.4 kg ha-1) and lowest uptake recorded at control: only drip irrigation + no fertigation (N6) (92.5, 15.8, 74.8 kg ha-1). Drip Irrigation at 100% ETc, recorded the highest curd yield (16.3 t ha-1), which was comparable with drip Irrigation at 80% ETc (15.1 t ha-1). Drip fertigation at 100% RDF(N5) recorded significantly higher curd yield (21.25 t ha-1). Filtered bioslurry + biofertilizer soil application and filtered bioslurry + biofertilizer nutrigation treatment recorded curd yield (17.12, 17.05 t ha-1) respectively, which were comparable with each other. filtered bioslurry + biofertilizer seed treatment and filtered slurry nutrigation alone treatments recorded curd yield (15.47, 13.80 t ha-1) respectively. Obviously, the lowest curd yield (9.43 t ha-1) was obtained in control treatment. The quality parameters like total sugars and ascorbic acid content were highest with filtered bioslurry + biofertilizer soil application (6.02%, 111.49 mg100g-1) and filtered bioslurry + biofertilizer nutrigation (6.0%, 110.09 mg100g-1), followed by drip fertigation at 100% RDF (5.67%, 87.8 mg100g-1).Therefore, it could be concluded that, even though yield and uptake were highest in mineral fertigation, curd quality parameters like total sugars, ascorbic acid content were superior in bioslurry/biofertilizer treatments.