Bioformulation-Mediated Response of Kalmegh (<i>Andrographis paniculata</i> Wall. ex Nees, Family Acanthaceae) for Growth, Yield, and Quality

A pot culture experiment with nine treatments and three separate replications was established in a completely randomized design (CRD). It was evaluated at Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya (Agricultural University) in Mohanpur, WB, India, for 2 years in a row from January to June in 2021 and 2022. The experiment comprising nine bioformulation treatments, namely, T₁: recommended dose of fertilizer (RDF, 20 t FYM + 75:75:50 kg NPK ha^-1), T₂: farmyard manure (FYM) @ 20 t ha^-1, T₃: T₂ + 3% panchagavya, T₄: T₂ + 6% panchagavya, T₅: T₂ + 9% panchagavya, T₆: T₂ + 5% jeevamrutha, T₇: T₂ + 7.5% jeevamrutha, T₈: T₂ + 10% jeevamrutha, and T₉: control (no nutrients and bioformulations), was evaluated for the growth, quality, and yield of kalmegh along with the study of soil characteristics for two consecutive years. Pooled results revealed that T₅ had the highest values for plant height (74.45 cm), plant spread (36.36 cm²), primary (26.26) and secondary (29.18) branch number per plant, number of leaves (94.01) and leaf area (559.50 cm²) per plant, fresh (42.94 g) and dry (18.85 g) herbage yield per plant, total chlorophyll (4.392 mg g^-1), and total andrographolides (2.925%). Out of these, plant height (73.39 cm), primary branch number per plant (25.61), leaf parameters (89.46; 530.83 cm²), fresh and dry herb yields (42.00 g and 18.16 g per plant, respectively), and total chlorophyll and andrographolides (3.294 mg g^-1 and 2.802%, respectively) were <i>on par</i> with T₄. Soil organic carbon (0.84%), available N (274.88 kg ha^-1), P (31.72 kg ha^-1), and K (293.87 kg ha^-1), total count of bacteria (242.50 × 10⁵ CFU g^-1 dry soil), fungi (191.33 × 10⁴ CFU g^-1 dry soil), and actinomycetes (199.17 × 10⁵ CFU g^-1 dry soil) in soil after harvest were the highest in T₅, followed by T₄. So, the use of 9% panchagavya or 6% panchagavya in organically grown kalmegh will sustain crop production by improving soil health.