RESPONSE OF APPLICATION OF CUSTOMIZED FERTILISER GRADE (CFG) ON YIELD AND QUALITY OF POMEGRANATE

Pomegranate is one of the most important fruit crops which is consumed all over the world throughout the year. India is the second largest producer of pomegranate in the world with an area of 1.13 lakh hectares and production of 7.92 lakh tons. A CFG trial for pomegranate on inceptisol (Typic haplustepts) was conducted for validation of customized fertilizer grade (prepared by Deepak Fertilisers and Petro¬chemicals Corporation Ltd., Pune) during the rabi season of 2007-2008 at the Mahatma Phule Agriculture University, Rahuri, Maharashtra, India. The pome¬granate crop was grown with three treatments (T₁ - Farmers Practice, T₂ - University Practice, T₃ - CFG) in four replications by using randomized block design. Customized Fertilizer is a multi-nutrient carrier designed to contain macro- and/or micro-nutrient forms, manufactured through a systematic process; satisfying the crop’s nutritional needs, specific to its site, soil and stage.

The highest marketable yield was recorded in the T₃ (21.6 t ha^-1) followed by T₂ (20.6 t ha^-1) as compared to the T₁ (19.6 t ha^-1) treatment. The yield difference between T₃ and T2 treatments was found significant. Application of CFG - N 20 : P 10 : K 10 : S 5 : Mg 2 : Zn 0.5 : B 0.3 : Fe 0.2 at 1000 kg ha^-1 (T₃) as basal application to pomegranate recorded significantly more number of large size ‘A’ grade fruits (32%) as compared to the rest of the treatments (T₁ and T₂) with a marginal cost-benefit ratio (MCBR) of 16. Thus, the application of customized fertilizer grade was found to be beneficial for increasing in yield and improving quality of pomegranate. However, from the above results, it can be concluded that soil test based fertilizer application can be adjudged as the best treatment in terms of yield and MCBR and it helps to minimize the cost of application of fertilizers.