Influence of solid and liquid organic manures on soil properties and quality parameters of summer sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) under organic

In recent years, there has been a growing emphasis on organic farming practices due to increasing concerns about soil health, environmental sustainability, and consumer demand for chemical-free produce. An experiment was carried out on organic farming to determine the influence of soil-applied solid organic manures and foliar sprays of organic liquids on soil properties, seed quality parameters, and yield of sesame under an organic situation. The experiment was laid out in a split plot design with three replications comprising eighteen treatment combinations. Treatments consisted of three sources of solid organic manures viz., 100 % RDN through farmyard manure (M1), 100 % RDN through poultry manure (M2) and 100 % RDN through vermicompost (M3) in main plot and six organic liquid foliar applications viz., Seaweed extract @ 0.3 % (S1), Egg amino acid @ 1.0 % (S2), Humic acid @ 0.3 % (S3), Jeevamrith @ 3.0 % (S4), Fish amino acid @ 1.0 % (S5) and Panchgavya @ 3.0 % (S6) in sub-plot. The results indicated that the soil application of poultry manure and the foliar spray of seaweed extract at 20, 40, and 60 DAS recorded significantly higher nutrient uptake, soil microbial population, and lowest post-harvest soil nutrient content in sesame. However, soil application of organic manures and organic foliar spray found to be ineffective in creating a significant change in the soil bulk density, soil water holding capacity, soil pH, soil EC, soil organic carbon, seed oil, and protein. Applying poultry manure at 100% recommended dose of nitrogen (RDN) to the soil, combined with spraying 0.3% seaweed extract or 3.0% jeevamrith on the foliage three times at 20, 40 and 60 days after sowing, proven to be the most effective nutrient management practice for summer sesame in the Southern Agro-climatic Zone of Andhra Pradesh.