Comparative effect of FYM and Azotobacter on morphology and nutritional quality of high and low altitude grown knol khol (Brassica oleracea var. gongylodes L.) cultivar White Vienna

Extreme environmental conditions of high altitude (HA) expose the food crops to abiotic stresses that may impact their growth and nutritional composition, which also varies depending on agricultural practices being used. Therefore, the present study is designed to a compare the efficacy of organic agri-treatments viz. farm yard manure (FYM) and Azotobacter on morphological and nutritional traits of knol-khol cultivar White Vienna grown at HA and low altitude (LA). The field trial was conducted as a two-factorial experiment in a randomized block design. The first factor was treatments (T1-FYM, T2-Azotobacter, T3-FYM+Azotobacter and T4-(control) and second factor was cultivation locations (HA vs. LA). The findings revealed that the application of treatment T3 at HA resulted in higher total soluble solids (1.38-fold), titratable acidity (0.06-fold), total carbohydrate (1.9-fold), crude protein (3.7-fold), crude fat (3-fold) and dietary fiber content (78-fold) whereas, yield (137.6-fold) and ash content (0.85-fold) content were found higher at LA. The current study emphasizes upon the superior efficiency of combination treatment of FYM and Azotobacter at HA to improve the nutritional quality of food crops, with added benefits of environmental sustainability and nutritional security.