EFFECT OF HOUSEHOLD ORGANIC WASTE COMPOST ON GROWTH AND YIELD OF INDIAN SPINACH (Basella alba L.)

Abstract

Household organic waste (HOW) can be managed in an environmentally feasible way by preparing compost and using them to produce organic vegetables for family consumption in kitchen yard or rooftop garden. So, a pot experiment was conducted in the field laboratory of the Department of Agroforestry and Environmental Science, Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Dhaka 1207, from March 18 to May 17, 2020 to observe the effect of household organic waste compost on the growth and yield of Indian spinach (Basella alba L.) under five different treatments 1. T0: only the field soil ; 2. T1: 20% of HOW compost and soil; 3 T2: 40% of HOW compost and soil; 4. T3: 50% of HOW compost and soil; and 5. T4: Recommended dose of fertilizer in completely randomized design with three replications. The results showed significant positive influence of HOW compost which were increased plant height, leaf number, stem diameter, fresh and dry weight resulting in higher yield. Treatment T4 showed highest fresh weight and stem length which are expected attributes in commercial large scale cultivation. Among the three HOW compost treatments T3 showed highest fresh weight, dry weight, leaf number and stem length. So treatment T3 is preferable for organic cultivation in the homestead or in the rooftop garden.