PERFORMANCE OF KANGKONG (Ipomoea aquatica) UNDER DIFFERENT NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT PRACTICES
ABSTRACT
Kangkong, known as Dhodi saag in Nepal, is a neglected and underutilized species that is important in both nutritional and medicinal aspects and can be an alternative source of leafy vegetables during the summer season. To assess how growth and yield are affected in Kangkong (Ipomoea aquatica) under the application of different fertilizers, an experiment was conducted during March-June 2023 in Krishnapur Municipality-05 of Kanchanpur district, Nepal. A randomized complete block design involving five different treatments viz. T1: Jholmal (0.25 L/plant applied three times), T2: Farmyard manure (20 t ha-1), T3: Poultry manure (20 t ha-1), T4: Chemical fertilizers (200:150:120 Kg NPK ha-1) and T5: Control and four replications were considered for this study. The findings showed a significant increase in plant height, number of leaves per plant, leaf length, and yield from poultry manure (p<0.05) followed by farmyard manure at early stages and chemical fertilizers at later stages compared to other fertilizers used in this study. The highest total yield of 27.55 t ha-1, along with greater shelf life reflected by a lower weight loss percentage and good taste of Kangkong boiled shoots, was recorded from poultry manure. Therefore, poultry manure can be recommended as an alternative fertilizer to improve the taste and yield of Kangkong. However, a more comprehensive study on the use of poultry manure is required to validate the findings of this study.