Impact of Different Nutrient Management Strategies for Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium Uptake and Availability in Chilli (Capsicum annuum var. annuum L.)

A field investigation was carried out at the experimental farm of Krishi Vigyan Kendra, CSKHPKV, Bajaura (Kullu), Himachal Pradesh during kharif, 2022. The experiment was carried out in Randomized Block Design (RBD) with three replications comprising 12 treatment combinations of NPK fertilizers, biofertilizers (Azotobacter and PSB), organic and natural farming on chilli variety ‘Him Palam Mirch-2’. Different nutrient management practices significantly influenced NPK uptake and soil available N, P and K. The results revealed that treatment combination of 100% NPK + 10t vermicompost + Azotobacter + PSB recorded significantly the N (1.260%), P (0.156%) and K (1.387%) content in chilli stalk, N (1.870%), P (0.447%) and K (0.865%) content in chilli fruit, total uptake of N (132.34 kg ha-1), P (26.32 kg ha-1) and K (90.60 kg ha-1) by chilli crop. At the end of the experiment, treatment combination of 100% NPK + 10t vermicompost + Azotobacter + PSB recorded maximum available N in the soil while maximum P and K was recorded in treatment combination of 100% NPK + 10t vermicompost + PSB. Natural farming practice recorded lowest soil available N, P, nutrient content and uptake while organic farming practice recorded lowest value of soil available. Therefore, it can be concluded that the combined application of NPK fertilizers and organic inputs coupled with biofertilizers proved the best for NPK uptake and soil available N, P and K.