Effects of Vermicompost Fertilizer Combined with Planting Materials on Growth Characteristics and Yield of Chinese Kale (Brassica alboglabra L.)

Abstract

Vermicompost is effective for use in combination with planting materials in crop production. The objective of this research was to study the effect of vermicompost combined with planting materials on the growth characteristics and yield of Chinese kale. The experiment was done at Faculty of Agricultural Technology, Rambhai Barni Rajabhat University. The experiment was designed with a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with 5 replications and 6 treatments, including: Treatment 1: Control (no chemical fertilizer), Treatment 2: growing medium + 16-16-16 chemical fertilizer, Treatment 3: growing medium + 25% vermicompost, Treatment 4: growing medium + 50% vermicompost, Treatment 5: growing medium + 75% vermicompost, Treatment 6: 100% vermicompost. Data on growth characteristics and yield were collected weekly after planting until the harvested. The data recorded included the plant height stem diameter number of leaves, leaf width, leaf length and leave greenness and fresh weight/plant/pot and dry weight/plant/pot were collected at 45 days after transplant. The results showed that the growth characteristics of kale in Treatment 5 and Treatment 6 were significantly different (p<0.01). The growth trend increased from the 2rd to 4th weeks after planting. Regarding yield at harvest age, fresh weight and dry weight were significantly different (p<0.01). Treatment 6 resulted in the highest fresh and dry weights of kale, with values of 9.99 and 1.55 g./plant, respectively. The results of the experiment indicate that vermicompost has the potential to be used as a planting material in crop production.