Effect of surface and sub surface drip irrigation and fertigation using organic and inorganic sources on productivity of tomato and cucumber under protected environment

Abstract

In the realm of modern agriculture, optimizing the use of water and nutrients stands as a pivotal newlinechallenge, particularly under the constraints of environmental sustainability and increasing global food newlinedemands. This study delves into the realm of precision agriculture, focusing on the efficiency of water newlineand nutrient use in the cultivation of tomato and cucumber crops within a protected environment with newlinethe specific objective to explore the potential of advanced irrigation and fertigation techniques to newlineenhance the productivity and quality of these crops. The experiment was laid out in factorial completely newlinerandomized design having two irrigation treatments viz., I1: surface drip at 60% of pan evaporation newline(PE) for first two months and 80% of PE, thereafter and I2: sub-surface drip at 30% of PE for first two newlinemonths and 40% of PE, thereafter and five nutrient management treatments viz., F1: soil application of newlineFYM at 15 t ha-1 + compost tea fertigation at 75 ml m-2 newlineat 3 days intervals, F2: soil application of newlinevermicompost at 7 t ha-1 + vermiwash through fertigation at 75 ml m-2 newlineat 3 days intervals, F3: soil newlineapplication of FYM at 10 t ha-1 + 75% NPK (1/4 as basal + 3/4 through fertigation) + compost tea newlinefertigation at 75 ml m-2 newlineat 7 days interval, F4: soil application of vermicompost at 5 t ha-1 + 75 % NPK newline(1/4 as basal + 3/4 through fertigation) + vermiwash fertigation at 75 ml m-2 newlineat 7 days intervals and newlineF5: soil application of FYM at 10 t ha-1 + 100% NPK (1/4 basal + 3/4 through fertigation) at 7 days newlineinterval. Key findings include the significant efficacy of sub-surface drip irrigation in enhancing yield newlineand water productivity, with an increase of 15.7 per cent in tomato and 14.9 per cent in cucumber yield, newlinealongside a notable reduction in water use by 50 per cent. The fertigation treatment combining compost newlinetea with 75% recommended dose of fertilizers (RDF) emerged as the most effective, improving crop newlinegrowth, yield, and water productivity, and saving 25 per cent of water-soluble fertilizers. This treatm