Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Natural Farming: A Sustainable Alternative to Chemical Fertilizers for Marigold (Tagetes erecta cv. Siracole) Cultivation under Mid-Hills of Himalayan Region

Nitesh Kaushal
* ORCID logo ,
Bharati Kashyap
,
Suman Bhatia
,
Manish Kumar
* ,
Ali Hadar Shah
* ,
Ragini Bhardwaj
* ,
Balbir Singh Dilta
,
Priyanka Thakur
Version 1 : Received: 5 July 2024 / Approved: 5 July 2024 / Online: 8 July 2024 (03:54:46 CEST)

A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.

Kaushal, N.; Kashyap, B.; Bhatia, S.; Kumar, M.; Shah, A.H.; Bhardwaj, R.; Dilta, B.S.; Thakur, P. Jeevamrit: A Sustainable Alternative to Chemical Fertilizers for Marigold (Tagetes erecta cv. Siracole) Cultivation under Mid-Hills of Himachal Pradesh. Horticulturae 2024, 10, 846. Kaushal, N.; Kashyap, B.; Bhatia, S.; Kumar, M.; Shah, A.H.; Bhardwaj, R.; Dilta, B.S.; Thakur, P. Jeevamrit: A Sustainable Alternative to Chemical Fertilizers for Marigold (Tagetes erecta cv. Siracole) Cultivation under Mid-Hills of Himachal Pradesh. Horticulturae 2024, 10, 846.

Abstract

Using desi-cow waste products like Jeevamrit, natural farming is widespread among farmers for improving soil biology and productivity. Jeevamrit enhances soil chemical and microbiological properties without needing large quantities of farmyard manure (FYM), as a sustainable farming practice with a reduced carbon footprint. Despite its traditional use, Jeevamrit faces criticism due to a lack of scientific evidence. This study investigated the comparative effect of Jeevamrit and chemical fertilizers on the growth and yield of marigold cv. Siracole. In this study mother block of marigold was raised for both summer and winter seasons. The cuttings were harvested from the mother block and then kept for rooting. The rooted cuttings were planted at monthly intervals and evaluated for flowering parameters and compared to those treated with RDF (30:20:20 N, P, and K g/m2). Soil supplied with Jeevamrit enhanced bacteria (26.33%), fungi (18.92%), and actinomycetes (31.21%) populations compared over the recommended dose of fertilizers (RDF) (i.e. N:P: K @ 30:20:20 g m-2). Jeevamrit-treated plants have marketable flower yield per square meter (3.98 %) and shelf life (9.93 %) compared to RDF. The study concludes that Jeevamrit @ 2 liter m-2 is a sustainable and effective alternative to traditional fertilizers for enhancing marigold production in the mid-hills of the Himalayan region, where natural farming is already accepted.

Keywords

Jeevamrit; Marigold; natural farming; soil biology improvement; sustainable agriculture

Subject

Biology and Life Sciences, Horticulture

Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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