Scientia Horticulturae 224 (2017) 84–92

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Scientia Horticulturae
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/scihorti

Effect of organic and inorganic nutrient sources on the yield of selected MARK
tropical vegetables
⁎
T. Pradeepkumara, , Binoo P. Bonnyb, R. Midhilaa, Jacob Johnc, M.R. Divyaa, C. Varun Rocha
a
Department of Olericulture, College of Horticulture, Kerala Agricultural University, Vellanikkara, P.O. KAU, 680656 Kerala, India
b
Communication Centre, Directorate of Extension, Kerala Agricultural University, P.O. Mannuthy, 680651 Kerala, India
c
CSRC Karamana, Kerala Agricultural University, P.O. Karamana, 695002 Kerala, India

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Results from different experimental studies that compared organic and inorganic nutrient sources on yield of
Tropical vegetables tropical vegetables were subjected to meta-analysis to quantify the overall effect of nutrients on crop yield. The
Organic nutrition selected studies reported organic to conventional yield comparisons on ten tropical vegetable crops viz.
Inorganic nutrition amaranthus (Amaranthus tricolor L.), brinjal (Solanum melongena L.), chilli (Capsicum annuum L.), okra
Yield
(Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench), tomato (Solanum lycopersicon L.), bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.),
Meta-analysis
coleus (Solenostemon rotundifolius (L.) Codd.), cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp), snake gourd (Trichosanthes
anguina L.), and cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.). Random effect model of the statistical programming software
Comprehensive Meta Analysis Version 2 was used in the analysis. Mean yield was used as the compared outcome
and standard mean difference (SMD) between the treatment and control yield was used as the effect size metric.
Forest plot results indicated the combined effect of the data from the selected studies of tropical region over a
period of thirty years (1985–2015). The overall standard mean difference (SMD) of yields between organic and
inorganic sources of nutrition showed significant increase in crop yield under organic nutritional sources.
However, meta-analysis that combined the overall effect estimate of standard mean difference of yield between
nutrition with organic sources and conventional recommended integrated POP nutrition indicated no significant
difference in yields. It could also be inferred that the effect of organic nutrition was significant only when the
dosage was considerably enhanced or supplemented with different sources of manures. The long term
sustainability of organic nutrition in vegetable crops depended on the quantity and quality of organic manures
applied, crop yield, quality and price of the produce.

1. Introduction
Vegetables form an indispensable part of daily diet in countries like
India where there is a predominant vegetarian population. Its impor-
tance both as a nutritional security component in health diets and as a
good source of essential minerals and vitamins is also on the rise, along
with the growing public awareness about the negative health impacts of
indiscriminate use of agro-chemicals in crop production. The latter
have caused an increase in demand for organically grown vegetables
that are reputed to be free of any residual contaminants causing health
hazards (Willer and Kilcher, 2011). But large scale conversion to
organic production has been debated for its effectiveness in meeting
production goals. Complete organic production warrants the use of
organic sources and botanicals in plant nutrition, plant protection and
all other related crop production practices. This prohibits the use of
common mineral fertilizers that include all nitrogenous and potassium
fertilizers except sulphate of potash and non-mineral phosphatic
fertilizer sources like super phosphate. These mineral sources are
replaced in organic vegetable production protocols with regular
supplements of organic nutrient sources in the forms of manures,
compost, green leaf and other bio-nutrient sources. Prophylactic and
preventive methods of plant protection involving botanical/animal/
microbial products and management strategies have also gained
prominence. These differences in production protocols between organic
and conventional methods that involve agro-chemical use are perceived
to affect the yield and quality of the produce as well as natural resource
conservation. The results are in favour of organic production in terms of
health and environmental risks but conclusive supports on production
efficiency are deficient. Many scientific studies on comparing different
concentrations of nutritionally relevant organic and inorganic nutrient

⁎
Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: pradeepkumar.t@kau.in (T. Pradeepkumar), binoo.bonny@kau.in (B.P. Bonny), midhilar@gmail.com (R. Midhila), jacob.john@kau.in (J. John),
mrdivya@gmail.com (M.R. Divya), varunroch@gmail.com (C.V. Roch).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2017.04.022
Received 8 May 2016; Received in revised form 17 April 2017; Accepted 19 April 2017
0304-4238/ © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
T. Pradeepkumar et al.
sources on yield are available, but the results have been contradictory.
Researchers have seldom attempted to synthesize the results from
various studies in order to provide with a conclusive organic policy
information (Seufert et al., 2012). A synthesis has been attempted in the
present study, focused on quantifying the overall effect of different
experimental studies that compared organic and inorganic nutrient
sources on yield of tropical vegetables.
2. Materials and methods
Organic vegetable production has been operationally defined for the
study as the exclusive use of biological sources for crop nutrition
whereas use of any synthetic chemical source in crop nutrition was
included under conventional vegetable production. All other farming
practices from seed to harvest in both cases were followed as per the
crop recommendations in Package of Practices of the period of study.
2.1. Literature search
Both peer reviewed literature from journals and Post Graduate (PG)
research reports of M.Sc. and Ph.D. students of Kerala Agricultural
University (KAU), a leading institute in agricultural research and
education in South India was purposively selected for the study.
Library database of the KAU was accessed at http://library.kau.in/
cgi-bin/koha/opac and Google scholar was used to identify the journal
publications on organic vegetables in English from similar tropical
regions. The search terms used to identify the web and library sources
were ‘(organic* or ecologic* or biodynamic*) and (conventional* or
integrated) and (vegetable* or tropical*)’.
2.2. Selection of review period
The titles were checked, to extract 278 studies reporting original
results of comparisons on the effect of different organic nutrient sources
on vegetable yield, under organic and conventional methods of nutri-
tion. Also title catalogue searches of PG research works of the KAU
library were used to extract 55 additional references in the area. These
together accounted for a total of 333 data sources from primary
experimental studies for the review. The search results included studies
from as early as 1955, but the number of studies prior to 1980 was very
few compared to post 1980 period. The six titles with suitable data sets
identified for the period prior to 1980 were subsequently rejected as the
small number minimized any potential bias from using time frame in
the selection criterion and full access of contents was not available. The
review results indicated an increase in the number of studies related to
organic farming in the post 1980 period and hence the period of study
has been fixed as thirty years between 1985 and 2015.
2.3. Inclusion criteria
Inclusion criteria recommendations given by Koricheva and
Gurevitch (2014) were used to identify suitable studies for meta
analysis. Presence of duplicate data and crops not related to the tropics
was also used as criteria for selection of studies. The specific inclusion
criteria used for the selection of studies to draw yield data for analysis
are enlisted below.
• appropriateness of experimental treatments that discriminated the
effects of fertilization from other farming practices,
• availability of nutrient content data of different inorganic fertilizer
forms and organic products applied in compared systems,
• fertilization method that followed uniform basal and split applica-
tions as per recommendations,
• homogeneity of varieties used tropical locations of study.
Accordingly data sets that were repetitions (21 no.), unrelated data
85
Scientia Horticulturae 224 (2017) 84–92
sets related to cool season vegetables grown in tropics (161 no.) and
data sets related to non- nutritional components of organic farming (93
no.) were excluded from the study. Thus the study was limited to 39
research studies that met the inclusion criteria representing study sites
from tropical countries of Asia and Africa. This included 16 PG research
studies conducted at the KAU research farms located in three major
agroclimatic zones of Kerala viz. southern zone, central zone and
northern zone and the rest from the published research journals. The
selected studies reported organic to conventional yield comparisons on
ten tropical vegetable crops viz. amaranthus (Amaranthus tricolor L.),
brinjal (Solanum melongena L.), chilli (Capsicum annuum L.), okra
(Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench), tomato (Solanum lycopersicon
L.), bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.), coleus (Solenostemon rotun-
difolius (L.) Codd.), cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp), snake gourd
(Trichosanthes anguina L.), and cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.).
2.4. Estimation of publication bias
Though the present study relied equally on the available body of
published studies and unpublished Post Graduate research reports of
KAU, any chance of publication bias in interpreting the outcomes of
meta-analysis was evaluated using a funnel plot graph (Fig. 1). The
funnel plot graph of standard error on the y axis plotted against the
measure of effect on the x axis (standard difference in means). The plot
was not skewed and resembled a symmetrical (inverted) funnel which
indicated the absence of possible publication bias. Another potential
advantage of using standard errors was that in the absence of both
biases and heterogeneity, 95% of studies fell within the triangular
region (Fig. 1).
2.5. Data exclusion and information extraction
Studies that reported comparable yield data on temporal and spatial
scale in organic and conventional nutritional treatments were included
for the final analysis. If data from the same study was reported in
several papers, the data was included only once from the source that
reported it in greatest detail. Data sets of studies that compared organic
and no nutrient regimes and integrated combinations in various
proportions of Package of Practices – crops (POP) recommendation
were excluded from the present analysis. Accordingly data were
extracted from two types of comparative studies: (1) field trials of
organic nutrition in different proportions of recommended doses
compared to recommended doses of nutrition as inorganic fertilizers
alone and (2) studies that compared organic manures in different
proportions of recommended doses with recommended integrated doses
of organic and inorganic nutrient sources as per POP-crops recommen-
dations. These comparisons assumed significance as they were the two
Fig. 1. Funnel plot of standard error by standard difference in means.
T. Pradeepkumar et al. Scientia Horticulturae 224 (2017) 84–92

Table 1 Table 2
Nutrient content of manures in selected experiments. Integrated nutrient recommendations for selected vegetable crops as per Package of
Practices of Kerala Agricultural University (KAU).
Sl. No. Manure Nutrient content (%)
Sl. No. Crop Inorganic dose (kg ha−1) Organic dose (t ha−1)
N P K
N P2O5 K2O FYM
1 FYM 1.0 0.5 1.0
2 Poultry manure 1.2 1.4 0.8 1 Amaranth 50 50 50 50
3 Sheep manure 0.8 0.3 0.3 2 Brinjal 75 40 25 25
4 Vermicompost 1.5 1.0 0.6 3 Bittergourd 70 25 25 20
5 Coir pith compost 1.22 0.4 1.3 4 Chilli 75 40 25 25
6 Green manure (Sunhemp, fresh wt.) 0.75 0.12 0.51 5 Cucumber 70 25 25 20
7 Neem cake 5.0 1.0 1.5 6 Okra 110 35 70 12
8 Ground nut cake 7.0 1.5 1.5 7 Tomato 75 40 25 25
9 House waste 0.15 0.1 0.40 8 Coleus 30 60 50 10
10 Fresh slurry 1.0 0.8 0.8 9 Snake gourd 70 25 25 20
10 Cowpea 20 30 10 20

major conventional practices in vogue among the tropical vegetable

farmers. Farmers generally practiced either integrated recommended
nutrition sources that combine organic and inorganic sources in
prescribed doses or depended solely on inorganic fertilizers (Pandey
and Singh, 2012). Thus the final observations included data points
selected from 39 independent study results that compared yield of
selected vegetables under organic and inorganic nutrition under the
two major conventional nutritional regimes. Organic trials were taken
as the experimental group and inorganic alone or integrated POP
recommendations as control group.
In order to make the comparisons easy and uniform between
different organic sources used in different trials the quantity of organic
sources used was converted to NPK equivalents of the same quantity of
Farm Yard Manure (FYM). The NPK equivalent in recommended dose of
FYM has been taken as one/100 and the other organic sources fixed as
proportion of this based on the quantity used. The conversion rates for
organic manures used are given as Table 1 (KAU, 2011). Nutrient
content of the inorganic fertilizers alone was used to derive NPK level
which was used in the analysis and the chemical form of fertilizer was
not considered. List of studies selected for meta-analysis is given in the
references and the extracted data points as Supplementary Table S1. It
summarizes basic data on the number of studies, individual compar-
isons, organic and conventional sample sizes, and mean yields. Aver-
aging was done across control and contrasted with experimental
replications at multiple alternative organic treatments for a study in a
field site in a season and year. The effect size was calculated across
replicates for a given site and treatment. Error term in the form of
standard deviation either reported or calculated from the available data
was also included in Table S1.
2.6. Meta-analysis
The extracted data was subjected to weighted meta-analysis using
random effect model of the statistical programming software
Comprehensive Meta-Analysis Version 2 (Trial). A variation on the
inverse-variance method based on the assumption that the different
studies estimated different, yet related, intervention effects was used in
the study. This produced a random-effects meta-analysis model known
as the DerSimonian and Laird method, which was used in the analysis
(DerSimonian and Laird, 1986). In order to undertake a random-effects
meta-analysis, the standard errors of the study-specific estimates (SE)
were adjusted to incorporate a measure of the extent of variation, or
heterogeneity, among the intervention effects observed in different
studies. Mean yield was taken as the compared outcome and standard
mean difference (SMD) between the treatment and control yield was
used as the effect size metric in the meta-analysis.
Standardized mean difference is used as a summary statistic in
meta-analysis when all the studies assess the same outcome but
measure it in a variety of ways. It is necessary to standardize the
results of the studies to a uniform scale before they can be combined.
The standardized mean difference expresses the size of the intervention
effect in each study relative to the variability observed in that study.
(Again in reality the intervention effect is a difference in means and not
a mean of differences.):
Difference in mean outcome between groups
SMD =
Standard deviation of outcome among participants
In contrast to the fixed effects model, the random effects model
assumed that the studies included in the meta-analysis were a random
sample of a hypothetical population of studies. The method provided a
summary statistic of an intervention's effect, as well as a confidence
interval. The protocols used for the meta-analyses were based on the
methodologies described by Palupi et al. (2012) and Brandt et al.
(2011). Meta-analysis compared treatment yield of selected vegetables
under organic nutrition against the control yields of inorganic nutrition
and also POP integrated treatment recommendations (Table 2).
3. Results
3.1. Comparison of organic vs conventional inorganic nutrition on yield
Numerical values for mean percentage difference (MPD) of yields
reported from vegetables grown under organic and inorganic nutrition
indicated that on average, organic yields were 98% of those obtained
under conventional vegetable production (Table 3). Forest plot results
of the standard weighted meta-analyses for vegetable crop yield (data
reported for selected tropical vegetable crops) under organic sources of
nutrition against the control using inorganic nutrient sources are given
as Fig. 2. Fifty-six data points from 22 independent studies reporting
yield under different organic sources in different tropical vegetable
groups were included in the same meta-analyses. Though the effect of
organic nutrition on yield varied across the individual data points
compared, the overall pooled effects size or SMD and 95% CI pooled
using the DerSimonian and Laird methods for random effects models
recorded significant increase in yield under organic nutrition treat-
ments. It is indicated by the diamond at the bottom which showed the
overall effect size estimate with SMD value −0.075 at 95% CI. The I2 at
24.8% gave a moderate measure of heterogeneity of data among studies
included in the meta-analysis. The horizontal lines represented the
effect size on standard mean difference of individual data points at 95%
confidence intervals with each end of the line representing the
boundaries of the confidence interval. The point estimate and size of
the study are represented in a black box at the centre of each horizontal
line. The bigger box represented more sample size and weights were
calculated accordingly. Outlying data points were removed from
analysis as they had lesser precision with their MPD between organic
and inorganic showing values more than fifty times the mean value.
These were represented only as arrows in the outer margins of the
graph. Relative weight of study is given in the last column of Fig. 2

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T. Pradeepkumar et al. Scientia Horticulturae 224 (2017) 84–92

Table 3
Relative yield of vegetables under organic nutrition.

Sl. No. Crop No. of studies selected No. of data entries Average yield (t ha−1) Relative yield of organics (%)

Organic Conventional Total Organic Conventional

1 Amaranthus 09 58 30 88 15.45 14.17 109.03

2 Cucurbitsa 6 11 20 31 22.54 21.15 106.60
3 Brinjal 4 8 11 19 20.75 21.9 94.53
4 Cowpea 2 4 7 11 4.88 7.55 64.64
5 Chilli 6 14 25 39 18.15 19.04 95.33
6 Coleus 2 3 1 4 8.31 7.21 115.26
7 Okra 8 68 48 116 5.65 5.98 94.48
8 Tomato 2 7 21 28 6.58 6.94 94.81

Total 39 173 163 336 102.31 103.99 98.39

a
Bitter gourd, snake gourd and cucumber.

(Tables 4 and 5).
3.2. Comparison of organic vs conventional POP recommended integrated
nutrient sources on yield
Results of meta-analysis applied to combine the effect size of 61
data points extracted from 17 independent studies are presented in
Fig. 3. The forests plots indicated varying effect size for different data
points. Some data sets compared had wider confidence interval and
were removed. The overall effect size of all results from the selected
studies combined using meta-analysis indicated no significant differ-
ence in yields between organic and conventional integrated POP
nutrition recommended in tropical vegetables (SMD = 0.164). Relative
weight of study is given in the last column of Fig. 3. The mean effect
estimate for each study is given by the respective SMD values. Most of
the studies where yield from organic sources recorded significant
increase over conventional POP, organic nutrition doses were
50–100% higher over the recommended doses or 100% recommended
dose of nutrients were given in combinations of different organic
sources.
4. Discussion
Efficacy of organic and inorganic nutrient sources on yield in
tropical vegetables was compared using weighted meta-analyses based
on SMD. This is a preferred approach when combining data from
studies that measure yield of different tropical vegetable crops under
varying nutritional sources. In tropical regions, the process of decom-
position of organic matter is very quick as the hot moist conditions
increase the rate of biological activity (Pidwirny, 2008). Climate
distinctly modifies the nature and rapidity of decomposition of plant
remains on soil surface and thus exerts an important influence upon the
nature and abundance of the organic matter. Moisture and temperature
are among the most influencing variables (Brinson, 1977; Singh, 1969)
as they affect both the development of plant cover and the activities of
microorganisms which are highly crucial factors in organic matter
decomposition. Kononova (1975), after reviewing several publications,
inferred that the highest intensity of organic matter decomposition was
observed under conditions of moderately high temperature (about
30 °C) and soil moisture content of about 60–80% of its maximum
water-holding capacity.
Occurrence of heavy rain is detrimental to the soil nutritional build
up and run off often carries the fertile top soil along with the past
season organic matter. Physical and chemical properties of the soil also
influence the availability of nutrients which is a limiting factor in
tropics (Schoenholtz et al., 2000). Growing vegetables with only
organic input round the year is thus a challenging task for growers in
tropics. Nutritional requirement of vegetables vary and being a short
season crop under tropical condition (3–4 month) with a limited root
spread, concentration of available nutrients in the root feeding zone
determines the crop performance (Pradeepkumar et al., 2008). Crop
nutritional pressure on tropical soil is threefold when compared to
temperate region where mostly one crop is raised during spring–-
summer (Parry, 1990). Meta-analysis of yield data from different
experiments showed on par performance of organic nutrition when
compared to conventional or in organic method of nutrition in tropical
vegetable crops.
Among all the crops, amaranth, cucurbits and coleus exhibited high
relative yield under organic nutrition (Table 3). These crops are more
suitable to organic nutrition in tropical condition than tomato, brinjal,
chilli or okra. In cucurbits, a taproot, several inches in length and much
branched, is usually formed before the plumule unfolds and extended
tap root system of cucurbits may be the key factor facilitating organic
nutrition. Soil to a working depth of 1.12 m is filled with an efficient
absorbing system composed of the vertical ends of some of the surface
branches or their well-branched, vertically descending laterals. This
portion of the cucurbit root system greatly extends the nutrient
absorbing area. Solanaceous crops with limited root spread perform
better under integrated nutrition with a combination of organic and
inorganic inputs. Nutrients are made available in the absorbable form
near root zone through integrated nutrition. Limited root spread of
chilli or brinjal will not be able to take the advantages of the slow
release of nutrients from organic sources which diffuses gradually and
moves slowly to different soil layers. Amaranth is a heavy feeder of
nutrients (Pradeepkumar et al., 2011) and applying vermi-compost
(34% of the recommended dosage) exhibited significant superiority
over inorganic nutrition (Alam et al., 2007). However, higher dosage of
vermicompost did not yield a significant result. High organic applica-
tion leads to immobilization to nutrient (Bird et al., 2002) and
optimization of organic input is relevant as extra optimum quantity
will not be utilized by plant and subjected to various loss under tropical
condition.
Quantity as well as quality of organic matter in the soil is critical
and application of immature compost can lead to environmental and
agronomic problems (Komatsuzaki and Ohta, 2007). If the organic
material has not been adequately stabilized, its application enhances
ammonia volatilization, decreases the soil oxygen concentration,
produces certain phytotoxic compounds and immobilizes soil mineral
N (Diacono and Montemurro, 2010). Basso and Ritchie (2005), based
on a 6-year maize-alfalfa rotation, opined that, although manure
applications can be valuable for organic matter increase, possible
environmental impact without yield increase needs to be addressed.
Soil nitrous oxide (N2O) emission resulting from the application of
fertilizer and organic manure in heavily fertilized crops such as
vegetables is a matter of concern (Shcherbak et al., 2014).
Fixing optimum dosage of organic input is a challenging task and
lowering the organic dosage also failed to give the desired result in
amaranth (Aparna, 2011). Interestingly, when the organic dosage was

87
T. Pradeepkumar et al.
Fig. 2. Comparison of organic and inorganic nutrients on the yield of selected tropical vegetables.
increased to 200% and applied through different sources, inorganic
nutrition gained an upper hand in amaranth and brinjal (Asha, 2012;
Prasanna, 1998). Failure of the crop to absorb all nutrients supplied
through different sources and time lag for unlocking nutrients from
organic source might have contributed to this phenomenon. However,
in chilli and tomato application of recommended dosage through FYM
by 50% to 100% supplementation resulted in significant superiority of
yield in organic nutrition (Akshay, 2013; Chanda et al., 2011). Lack of
88
Scientia Horticulturae 224 (2017) 84–92
response at doses above 100% can be attributed to manure induced
immobilization of available nutrients. In cucumber and okra, inorganic
nutrition found to have a significant effect on yield when compared to
application of poultry manure (Rasmi Krishnan, 2014; Onwu et al.,
2014) though latter is rated above FYM in terms of nutritional content
(Amanullah et al., 2010).
Overall, significant superiority of organic nutrition over inorganic
nutrition at 95% CI from the compared studies shows the potential of
T. Pradeepkumar et al. Scientia Horticulturae 224 (2017) 84–92

Table 4 Table 5
Relative weights extracted for data points of studies compared between use of organic and Relative weights extracted for data points of studies compared between organic and
inorganic nutrient sources in vegetables. recommended integrated (POP) nutrition in vegetables.

Sl. No. Name of study and details of compared Year of Relative weight Sl. No. Name and details of compared Year of Relative weight
organic manure dosea study of study organic manure dose compareda study (organic vs POP)

1 Alam 34 RD VC 2007 1.39 1 Arunkumar 63 CP 2000 2.92

2 Alam 68 RD VC 2007 1.56 2 Arunkumar 94 CP 2000 2.91
3 Alam 136 RD VC 2007 1.67 3 Arunkumar 125 CP 2000 2.89
4 Aparna 68 RD VC 2011 1.83 4 Arunkumar 156 CP 2000 2.84
5 Aparna 50 RD FYM 2011 2.49 5 Arunkumar 188 CP 2000 2.70
6 Aparna 12 RD NC 2011 1.72 6 Arunkumar 28 PM 2000 2.91
7 Aparna 16 RD PM 2011 2.54 7 Arunkumar 42 PM 2000 2.92
8 Asha 100 PM +100 GC 2012 1.88 8 Arunkumar 56 PM 2000 2.90
9 Asha 100 GC+50 PM+50 VC 2012 1.96 9 Arunkumar 70 PM 2000 2.89
10 Asha 100 GC+50 NC+50 PM 2012 2.23 10 Arunkumar 84 PM 2000 2.84
11 Islam et al. 42 PM 2011 1.86 11 Arunkumar 11 VC 2000 2.92
12 Islam et al. 50 FYM 2011 2.23 12 Arunkumar 17 VC 2000 2.91
13 Islam et al. 34 HM 2011 2.39 13 Arunkumar 23 VC 2000 2.91
14 Shiyam and Binang 168 PM 2011 1.13 14 Arunkumar 28 VC 2000 2.82
15 Shiyam and Binang 336 PM 2011 1.17 15 Arunkumar 34 VC 2000 2.67
16 Shiyam and Binang 504 PM 2011 1.21 16 Asha V.P. 100 PM +100 GC 2012 0.85
17 Shiyam and Binang 168 GM 2011 1.20 17 Asha V.P. 100 GC+50 PM+50 VC 2012 0.89
18 Shiyam and Binang 336 GM 2011 0.95 18 Asha V.P. 100 GC+50 NC+50 PM 2012 1.02
19 Shiyam and Binang 504 GM 2011 0.94 19 Niranjana 100 FYM 1998 1.34
20 Prasanna 50 PM 1997 2.19 20 Niranjana 66 PM 1998 1.41
21 Prasanna 100 PM 1997 2.28 21 Sheeba 100 FYM +62 VC 1995 0.36
22 Prasanna 100 FYM 1997 2.34 22 Sheeba 100 FYM +69 PM 1995 0.36
23 Prasanna 200 FYM 1997 2.31 23 Rekha C.R. 100 FYM 1999 0.78
24 Rekha 100 OM 1999b 2.81 24 Rekha C.R. 80 FYM+ 10 PM +10 1999 1.03
25 Ullah et al. 100 FYM 2008 4.45 CD
26 Akshay 100 FYM 2013 4.75 25 Prasanna 50 PM 1997 0.36
27 Akshay 75 FYM 2013 5.14 26 Prasanna 100 PM 1997 0.48
28 Akshay 50 FYM 2013 5.08 27 Prasanna 100 FYM 1997 0.34
29 Meena Nair 150 FYM 1998 0.07 28 Prasanna 200 FYM 1997 0.36
30 Natesh et al. 50 FYM 2005 0.26 29 Rekha SR 100 OM 1999 0.37
31 Natesh et al. 08 VC 2005 0.28 30 Akshay 100 FYM 2013 9.31
32 Shivaprasad et al. 50 FYM 2010 0.22 31 Akshay 75 FYM 2013 9.15
33 Datt et al. 50 FYM 2003 3.74 32 Akshay 50 FYM 2013 9.48
34 Okoli and Nweke 33 PM 2015 0.39 33 Meena Nair 150 FYM 1998 0.29
35 RashmiKrishnan 60+20+20 2014 2.14 34 Sharu S. R. 200 NC 2000 0.11
36 RashmiKrishnan 100 FYM 2014 2.39 35 Sharu S. R. 200 PM 2000 0.68
37 RashmiKrishnan 100 PM 2014 2.92 36 Sharu S. R. 200 VC 2000 0.01
38 Antoinette et al. 100 FYM 2013 0.74 37 Rashmi Krishnan 60 FYM+20 PM 2014 0.13
39 Antoinette et al. 112 PM 2013 0.77 +20 CD
40 Asha Raj 100 FYM 1998 0.28 38 Rashmi 100 FYM 2014 0.28
41 Asha Raj 200 FYM+PM 1998 0.32 39 Rashmi 100 PM 2014 0.29
42 Asha Raj 200 FYM+GC 1998 0.34 40 Asha Raj 100 FYM 1998 0.11
43 Asha Raj 200 FYM+EC 1998 0.31 41 Asha Raj 200 FYM+PM 1998 0.13
44 Asha Raj 200 FYM+NC 1998 0.35 42 Asha Raj 200 FYM+GC 1998 0.14
45 Atif et al. 100 FYM 2015 1.18 43 Asha Raj 200 FYM+EC 1998 0.13
46 Atif et al. 10 Fresh slurry 2015 1.19 44 Asha Raj 200 FYM+NC 1998 0.14
47 Gudugi 42 FYM 2013 2.02 45 Gayathri K P 100 OM (25 VC+50 2010 1.06
48 Gudugi 168 FYM 2013 2.99 FYM+25 GL)
49 Gudugi 125 FYM 2013 2.88 46 Gayathri K P 75 OM (19 VC+37 2010 0.96
50 Gudugi 84 FYM 2013 2.88 FYM+12 GL)
51 Onwu et al. 210 PM 2014 1.79 47 Gayathri K P 50 OM (12 VC+26 2010 0.94
52 Onwu et al. 140 PM 2014 1.77 FYM+12 GL)
53 Onwu et al. 70 PM 2014 1.68 48 Pushpakumari and Geethakumari 2001 0.21
54 Goutam et al. 66 VC 2011 0.72 100 CC
55 Goutam et al. 100 FYM 2011 0.76 49 SmithaNandini 140 FYM 1998 0.42
56 Yadav et al. 100 FYM 2007 0.92 50 SmithaNandini 190 FYM 1998 0.45
51 SmithaNandini 220 FYM 1998 0.36
a
Name of researcher, RD – recommended dose, VC – vermicompost, FYM – Farm Yard 52 SmithaNandini 100 FYM+60 PM 1998 0.44
Manure, NC – neem cake, PM – poultry manure, GC – groundnut cake, HM – horse 53 SmithaNandini 100 FYM+90 PM 1998 0.40
manure, EC – enriched compost, GM – green manure. 54 SmithaNandini 100 FYM+120 PM 1998 0.45
55 SmithaNandini 100 FYM+60 VC 1998 0.34
56 SmithaNandini 100 FYM+90 VC 1998 0.40
organic farming in tropical vegetables. The results also indicated that
57 SmithaNandini 100 FYM+120 VC 1998 0.43
source and dosage of organic nutrient sources were critical in achieving 58 Phebe 150 PM 1998 3.23
the results. Comparison of organic and POP treatments reflects varying 59 Phebe 200 FYM 1998 2.99
response of vegetable crops to organic nutrition and the effect does not 60 Phebe 125 VC 1998 3.22
61 Yadav et al. 100 FYM 2007 0.42
follow a linear pattern with respect to individual crop and organic
source. Organic sources such as raw coir pith with wide C:N ratio can a
Name of researcher and dose of organic manure, CP – coir pith compost, VC – vermi
result in immobilization of plant nutrients. In addition; polyphenols and compost, FYM – Farm Yard Manure, NC – neem cake, PM – poultry manure, CD – cow
phenolic acids can be phytotoxic and inhibit plant growth (Wang et al., dung, GC – groundnut cake, HM – horse manure, EC – enriched compost, GL – green leaf
1967). POP recommendation in amaranth was found superior to coir manure.

89
T. Pradeepkumar et al.
Fig. 3. Comparison of organic and recommended integrated doses of nutrients on the yield of selected tropical vegetables.
pith application even when 125% of the recommended dosage was
applied through coir pith (Arunkumar, 2000). Addition of organic
inputs with high C/N content could cause nutrient imbalances in the
short-run even though such material are required to improve soil
organic matter content (Morvan et al., 2006).
Enrichment of organic manure with oil cake or vermicompost
sometimes failed to give desired result (Asha, 2012). When ground
nut cake was supplemented with poultry manure, neem cake or vermi
compost, effect was not significant for organic nutrition (Fig. 3). Bitter
gourd exhibited significant effect of organic nutrition (80% of the
recommended dosage through FYM along with 10% poultry manure
and 10% cow dung; Rekha, 1999a). High doses of organic manure alone
without inorganic input were ineffective in brinjal (Prasanna, 1998).
Positive effect of POP in amaranth and brinjal even at higher doses of
organic manure reflects a discrete pattern of manure efficiency which
very often depends on season, source, pretreatment and method of
application.
Chilli, like other tropical vegetable crops exhibited a mixed response
with significant yield increase under organic nutrition at 150% FYM
and without significant effect when 200% of the recommended dosage
was applied through vermicompost without NPK (Meena Nair, 1988;
Sharu, 2000). Same trend was observed in okra when the recommended
dose was applied through split up of organic manures (Gayathri, 2010)
or the dosage of a particular manure was increased from 140% to 220%
(Smitha Nandini, 1998). Okra responded positively to the application of
organic manure and grows through all season in tropical climate
(Gopalakrishnan, 2007). In all these crops POP recommendation
90
Scientia Horticulturae 224 (2017) 84–92
exhibited slight superiority over organic nutrition as evidenced from
meta-analysis. Moreover, the effect of organic nutrition was significant
only when the dosage was considerably enhanced or supplemented
with different sources of manure. Application of additional quantity of
organic manure depends to a great extent on the purchasing power of
farmer and availability of organic source. Therefore, for maintaining
soil fertility and meeting crop nutrient demands, large quantity of these
organic supplements is needed. This demanded appropriate farm-scale
management strategies considering cultural and socio-economic envir-
onment of farm holders. Lack of sufficient amount of vermicompost and
non-availability of other biofertilizers in local markets further constrain
organic production (Gill et al., 2000).
Thus there are apprehensions among farmers and scientists about
the possibility of supplying the minimum required nutrients to crops
through organic sources alone with concern on mobilizing required
quantity of organic matter. Sellen et al. (1993) reported higher
cultivation cost in organic farming due to higher input costs. Therefore
it will be the premium price of the organic produce which will decide
the economic feasibility of organic farming, (Ramesh et al., 2005).
Moreover, recommendation of switch over from fertilizer use to organic
manure should also consider agro-ecosystems peculiarities.
As evidenced, mere increase in dosage of organic manure will not
always give the desired result. Superiority of particular manure in
vegetable nutrition depends on the availability of major nutrients in the
manure as well as the accrued benefit on crop yield, quality and plant
health and impact on physical, chemical and biological properties of the
soil. A major constraint while adopting organic cultivation is managing
T. Pradeepkumar et al.
the supply of nutrients as splits at the critical time as per the
requirement of the vegetable grown. In conventional agriculture, the
use of inorganic fertilizers enables supply of the required quantity of
nutrient in the form that will be readily taken up by the crop at the
appropriate time. In a meta-analysis study based on Sub-Saharan Africa,
Corbeels et al. (2014) emphasize the ability of farmer to use fertilizer in
sufficient quantities and correct proportions for success in conservation
agriculture where mulching is an integral component. Under organic
nutrition, the rate of decomposition of the materials used and the
staggered nutrient release, which is specific for each organic source and
nutrient, may act as limiting factors in scientific nutrient management.
As a result, certain organic materials used as manure may have a faster
decomposition and nutrient release rate and hence, superior than
others.
Despite the favourable results of organic nutrition of vegetable crops
in several trials, long term sustainability of its application depends on
many aspects, most of which beyond the control of growers. Moreover,
majority of the results are based on pot culture studies or small plot
trials, that too undertaken for a season or a year. Credible and
practically applicable information can be obtained only from long term
field experiments that too laid out in large sized plots. At field level,
quantity and quality of manure are the key factors determining the
success of organic nutrition in a particular crop. Integrated plant
nutrition approach followed in POP is equivalent to organic nutrition
in most of the tropical crops. Adaptability of cucurbits and amaranth to
organic nutrition underlines importance of selection of crops. Future of
organic nutrition of tropical vegetable crops will depend on scope of
adding optimum quantity of organic manure, plant absorption and
utilization under tropical condition, pest and disease attack, yield and
price of produce. Growing consumer demand for safe to eat vegetable
and need for environment friendly farm practices will give impetus to
this movement.
Appendix A. Supplementary data
Supplementary data associated with this article can be found, in the
online version, at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2017.04.022.
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