author(s)
Ankush Chaudhary and Monisha Rawat

abstract
A field experiment was conducted to study the effect of integrated nutrient management on the vegetative growth, yield and quality of potato cultivar Kufri Chipsona-3 in sandy loam soils of Punjab. The field experiment was laid out in a randomized block design which involved the integrated use of different biofertilizers, organic manures and chemical fertilizers i.e., NPK, FYM (Farm Yard Manure), vermicompost, bio-fertilizers (phosphorus solubilizing bacteria and Vesicular Arbuscular Mycorrhizae) and absolute control to study the yield and quality parameters. The study revealed that maximum yield (27.9 t/ha) was obtained in the treatment which included integrated use of 75% recommended dose of NPK + FYM (Farm Yard Manure) @ 50 t/ha + PSB @ 10 kg/ha as compared to other treatments. The treatment also had positive effect on growth, quality and other yield attributes viz. plant height (39.85 cm, 48.73 cm and 51.62 cm at 30, 60 and 90 days after sowing respectively), number of compound leaves (41.84, 46.46 and 49.49 at 30, 60 and 90 days after sowing respectively), dry matter content (20.66%) and specific gravity (1.12 g/cm3) but the treatment had no significant effect on chlorophyll content. The benefit: cost ratio was also higher in the same treatment.