INTEGRATED NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT WITH VERMICOMPOST AND COWDUNG ENHANCES PRODUCTIVITY AND SOIL FERTILITY IN A T. AMAN–MUSTARD–BORO CROPPING SYSTEM

A field experiment was conducted at the BINA Sub-station farm, Jamalpur (AEZ-8) in Bangladesh during July 2023 to June 2024 to evaluate the combined effects of organic and inorganic fertilisers on growth and yield of a T. Aman rice (Binadhan-17)–Mustard (Binasharisha-9)–Boro rice (Binadhan-24) cropping system and post-harvest soil properties. The experiment was laid out in an RCBD and consisted of five treatments: 100% chemical fertilizer (CF); 85% CF + 5 t ha⁻¹ cowdung (IPNS); 85% CF + 2 t ha⁻¹ vermicompost (IPNS); 70% CF + 5 t ha⁻¹ cowdung (IPNS); and 70% CF + 2 t ha⁻¹ vermicompost (IPNS). The IPNS with vermicompost significantly influenced yield attributes of three crops. The maximum grain yield (6.3 t ha⁻¹) and straw yield (7.11 t ha⁻¹) were obtained at T₃ by Binadhan-17. The outstanding yield was obtained at T₃ (grain yield 1.59 t ha⁻¹; stover yield 3.65 t ha⁻¹) from mustard (Binasharisha-9), which also yielded the best, and Binadhan-24 formed the maximum grain yield (7.02 t ha⁻¹) and straw yield (7.71 t ha⁻¹) in T₃. Post-harvest soil analysis reflects that IPNS associated with 85% chemical fertilizers with 2 t ha⁻¹ vermicompost significantly increased OM %, total N %, and available P. Consequently, findings demonstrate that 85% of recommended chemical fertilizer associated with 2 t ha⁻¹ vermicompost is considered the most effective nutrient management strategy for enhancing total productivity and reducing chemical fertilizer dependency and sustaining soil fertility in the T. Aman rice (Binadhan-17)–Mustard (Binasharisha-9)–Boro rice (Binadhan-24) cropping system.