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Research on Crops

Effects of drip fertigation and plastic mulch on growth and productivity of okra


DOI: 10.31830/2348-7542.2025.ROC-1235    | Article Id: ROC-1235 | Page : 498-504
Citation :- Effects of drip fertigation and plastic mulch on growth and productivity of okra. Res. Crop. 26: 498-504
SANTOSH D. T., LIMBRAJ P. PHOLANE, SAGAR MAITRA, DEBASHIS MANDAL, MASINA SAIRAM, DINAKAR J. GAIKWAD AND SUMIT RAY limbraj.pholane@cutm.ac.in
Address : Agricultural and Food Engineering Department, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur-721302, West Bengal, India
Submitted Date : 28-08-2025
Accepted Date : 11-09-2025
Online Published:

Abstract

Drip fertigation and plastic mulching are considered efficient methods for nutrient dynamics, physiological reactions, and yield performance of vegetables under the current context of climate change and the erratic weather conditions during summer. However, despite these advantages, the thorough study on okra is meagre. Hence, a two-year field experiment (summer of 2023 and 2024) was conducted at the PFDC Farm, IIT Kharagpur, India, to evaluate the combined effects of drip fertigation and plastic mulch on the growth dynamics, productivity, and nutrient status of okra. The study included eight treatments that varied in fertilizer doses with 100%, 80%, and 60% of the recommended dose of fertilizer (RDF), application methods (drip fertigation versus soil application), and mulching practices (plastic mulched versus non-mulched). Results showed that biometric parameters, such as plant height, internodal length, functional leaves, and leaf area index, were significantly improved when drip fertigation was provided with mulching. The treatment with 100% RDF and mulch (T2) exhibited the highest vegetative growth, while the treatment with 80% RDF and mulch (T4) performed quite similarly, indicating a potential 20% reduction in fertilizer inputs without compromising growth. Early flowering and increased reproductive efficiency resulted from the mulched fertigation treatments (T2 and T4), which optimized reproductive qualities such as days to flowering, flowers/plant, fruits/plant, and chlorophyll content. The treatments had substantial impacts on yield and yield components, where T2 produced the highest yield (29.0 t/ha), followed by T4 (26.9 t/ha). Further, nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium contents in the leaves at 60 DAS were higher under fertigation with mulch, particularly in T2 and T4. The combination of drip fertigation and plastic mulch increased the growth and yield of okra. The findings emphasized the potential of using mulched fertigation at 80–100% RDF as a resource-efficient method for okra cultivation in the summer.

Keywords

Fertilizer optimization leaf nutrient content okra SPAD reading yield 

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