Effects of type and rate of organic fertilizers on growth, yield and net economic return of Chinese kale production

Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate type and rate of organic fertilizers on growth, yield and net economic return of Chinese kale. The experiment was a completely randomized design with 13 treatments and 4 replications, including 1) no organic fertilizer application, 2) cattle manure at the rate of 1.5 ton/rai, 3) cattle manure at the rate of 3.0 ton/rai, 4) cattle manure at the rate of 4.5 ton/rai, 5) swine manure at the rate of 1.5 ton/rai, 6) swine manure at the rate of 3.0 ton/rai, 7) swine manure at the rate of 4.5 ton/rai, 8) chicken manure mixed with rice husk at the rate of 0.5 ton/rai, 9) chicken manure mixed with rice husk at the rate of 1.0 ton/rai, 10) chicken manure mixed with rice husk at the rate of 1.5 ton/rai, 11) durian shell compost at the rate of 1.5 ton/rai, 12) durian shell compost at the rate of 3.0 ton/rai, and 13) durian shell compost at the rate of 4.5 ton/rai. The results showed that applications of the cattle manure and durian shell compost at the rate of 4.5 ton/rai tended to have the highest shoot fresh weight (1,777 and 2,133 kg/rai, respectively). These treatments also provided the highest net economic return (21,629 and 22,825 THB/rai, respectively). The results of this study demonstrated that durian shell compost and cattle manure at the rate of 4.5 ton/rai can be an alternative way for farmers to Chinese kale production.