Influence of effective microorganisms on Root-shoot ratio and harvest index of groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.)

Effective microorganisms (EM) solution was used in combination with different rates of cattle manure to study feasibility of EM in groundnut cultivation. This study determined the fraction of biomass partitioned to root vs. shoot in groundnut response to cattle manure and EM application. Significant reduction in root- shoot ratio was noted with manure application. Further, it was observed that EM application significantly improved harvest index (HI) of the crop. It suggests that cattle manure at the rate of 15 t/ha with EM would give better plant performance of groundnut

Effect of EM-Bokashi on vigorous seed production in vegetable cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L.)

The experiment was conducted to study the effect of EM-Bokashi on seed performance in vegetable cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L.). Results showed that the seeds harvested from animal manure EM-bokashi recorded significant increases in their vegetative and reproductive growth parameters than those from chemical and non-fertilized plants. Among the seeds harvested from different types of animal manure Bokashi, seeds in goat manure EM-bokashi showed high dry weights of stem, number of nodules, pod weight and plant biomass. Hence, it could be concluded that the use of animal manure with EM in vegetable cowpea cultivation could give the healthy seeds as planting material for obtaining high pod and seed yields and also for favourable health and environment

Growth and Yield Response of Red Onion (Allium ascalonicum L.) Grown in Different Potting

An experiment was conducted to evaluate the growth and yield response of red onion (Allium ascalonicum L.) grown in different potting media. Potting materials were sandy soil, cattle manure, coir dust and paddy husk ash. The media such as medium 1 used as control (sandy soil: cattle manure at ratio (v/v) of 6:2), medium 2 (sandy soil: cattle manure: coir dust at  ratio of 6:2:1), medium 3 (sandy soil: cattle manure: paddy husk ash at ratio of 6:2:1) and medium 4 (sandy soil: cattle manure: coir dust : paddy husk ash at ratio of 12:4:1:1) were prepared two weeks before planting. Bulbs were planted in each pot and other agronomic practices were done as recommended by Department of Agriculture, Sri Lanka. Plant height and number of leaves per plant were recorded at two week intervals. At the time of harvesting, fresh and air dry weights of plant, number of bulbs per plant, bulb diameter, bulb length, weight of bulbs per plant and nutrient (P and K) contents were measured and data were analyzed. The results indicated that potting materials have significant (