Advanced fertilizer management enhances productivity and suppresses foliar disease of mulberry plant'

Abstract

Quality and quaintity of mulberry plant production is well known to be extremely demanding to fertilizer and disease management. The advanced fertilizer management is the pre-requisities for sustainable mulberry plant production and improvement of mulberry leaf quality as well as reduction of incidences of foliar diseases of mulberry. The existing Bangladesh Sericulture Research and Training Institute (BSRTI) recommended inorganic fertilizer management is not adequate for quality and quaintity mulberry plant production as well as suppression of foliar diseases of mulberry plant. That's why, the present study was undertaken to introduce advance fertilizers management practices for sustainable mulberry plant production in Bangladesh. This study was conducted in the research field of BSRTI, Rajshahi, Bangladesh. The aims of this study was to investigate the productivity and suppression of foliar diseases incidences of mulberry plant under various fertilizer management practices such as liquid fertilizer (LF), farm yard manure (FYM), rice husk biochar, mineral enriched biochar, vermi-compost (VC), cow dung compost (CW), seri-waste compost (SW), elevated doses of NPK compared to BSRTI recommended basal dose of NPK for mulberry cultivation. A series of field experiments were conducted through different experimental desings with high bush mulberry plantation system for achieving the respective objectives of this study. The leaf yield and quality of mulberry plant was observed through various fertilizers management practices. Generally, the mulberry plant is affected by the various diseases like, powdery mildew, leaf spot, leaf rust, bacterial blight, root rot, root knot, tukra etc. due to fertilizer management. Among them common foilar diseases viz: powdery mildew, leaf spot and tukra were studied for this study irrespective to advanced fertilizer management practices. Among the all fertilizers management practices, the performanace of seri-waste compost was good in terms of leaf yield, leaf qualities and suppression of foliar diseases. However, among the organic and liquid fertilizers management on top of BSRTI recommended basal plus seri-waste compost performanace was best followed on top of B+CW, B+VC, B+FM, B+MB, B+RB and B+LF fertilizers management. The maximum leaf yield was 52.23 MT/ha/year for the B+SW fertilizer management which was 87.07% higher than the average leaf yield of only the basal treated plant. The leaf qualities of mulberry plant was also better on top of B+SW fertilizer management followed by on top of application of B+CW, B+VC, B+FM, B+MB, B+RB and B+LF fertilizers management. The leaf qualities percentage viz: moisture, crude protein, soluble carbohydrate, mineral and total sugar were 9.11, 32.52, 40.03, 38.08 and 26.05 respectively greater for on top of B+SW treated mulberry plant over the single application of BSRTI recommended basal dose of NPK (B). Furthermore, on top of basal plus seri-waste compost was also reduction the incidences of powdery mildew, leaf spot and tukra diseases were 80.64, 89.44 and 87.58 percent respectively greater than the single dose of BSRTI recommended basal dose of NPK (Traditional fertilizer management). Similarly, among the organic fertilizer management next to B+SW fertilizer management the performance on top of basal plus cow-dung compost was 2nd higest interms of growth, leaf yield, leaf quality as well as suppression of foliar diseases. However, on top of basal plus 3 times foliar srpray of 2ml LF/L water after 15 days intervale gave the leaf yield was 36.77 MT/ha/year which was 31.70% greater than the average leaf yield of basal with maximum leaf quality and maximum reduction of foliar diseases incidences followed by the recommended basal dose of NPK. Furtheremore, among the inorganic fertilizer management the elevated 400 kg N/ha/year with four split doses along with BSRTI recommended basal dose of 150 kg P and 100 kg K showed the better performance followed by the elevated doses of 200 kg P and 150 kg K/ha/year respectively. Similarly, the leaf yield was 47.20 MT/ha/year with higher moisture, crude protien, total sugar, mineral and soluble carbohydrate percentage for the graded doses of 400 kg nitrogen/ha/year. However, among the inorganic fertilizer management the elevated dose of potassium presented the better results in terms of reduction of foliar diseases incidences. The elevated 150 kg K/ha/year with recommended 300 kg N and 150 kg P/ha/year with four split doses reduction the powdery mildew, leaf spot and tukra diseases incidences were 38.73, 30.28 and 19.98% respectively greater over the recommended basal dose of NPK. Likewise, between the 0-5 and 6-10 year’s ages of mulberry plant the 6-10 years ages of plant gave the maximum leaf yield with better leaf quality as well as maximum reduction of foliar diseases followed by the 0-5 year’s ages of mulberry plant. Furthermore, this study showed that among the three foliar diseases and three cropping seasons namely, late autumn, rainy and summer seasons the incidence of powdery mildew disease in late autumn season was comparatively high. Likewise, the BM-11, BM-8, and Black varieties to powdery mildew, BM-4, BM-11 to leaf spot and BM-8, BM-10, BM-11 and S-30 were comparatively resistant to tukra disease. However, this study concluded that among the all fertilizers management irrespective to mulberry plant growth, mulberry leaf yield and quality as well as maximum suppression of common foliar diseases, the performance of BSRTI recommended convational basal dose of NPK plus 10MT Seri-waste compost/ha/year was the best management practice for sustainable mulberry cultivation in Bangladesh.