Effect of organic formulations on growth and yield of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L.)

A field study was conducted to study the effect of organic formulations on growth and yield of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L.) during rabi season of 2023-24 at Instructional Farm, Dr. Balasaheb Sawant Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth, College of Agriculture, Dapoli, Dist. Ratnagiri, Maharashtra. The experiment was laid out in randomized block design with three replications and consist nine treatments viz., T1: absolute control, T2: RDF, T3: T2 + Moringa leaf extract @ 10% foliar spray, T4: T2 + Karanj leaf extract @ 10% foliar spray, T5: T2 + Gliricidia leaf extract @ 10% foliar spray, T6: T2 + Lantana leaf extract @10% foliar spray, T7: T2 + (Neem cake + groundnut cake + PSB) @ 5% foliar spray, T8: T2 + (Biogas slurry + Jeevamrit + Cow urine) @ 5% foliar spray and T9: T2 + (Neem cake + groundnut cake + KMB) @ 5% foliar spray. The treatment RDF + (Biogas slurry + Jeevamrit + Cow urine) @ 5% foliar spray at 30 and 45 DAS recorded significantly maximum plant height (22.75 cm), number of functional leaves plant-1 (12.53), number of branches plant-1 (10.50) and dry matter accumulation plant-1 (13.08 g) at harvest, and significantly higher grain yield (1207.93 kg ha-1), stover yield (1776.93 kg ha-1), biological yield (2984.86 kg ha-1) and harvest index (40.47%) among the treatments. Thus, it can be concluded that for getting better growth and higher yield of cowpea crop, it should be fertilized with RDF + (Biogas slurry + Jeevamrit + Cow urine) @ 5% foliar spray at 30 and 45 DAS.