EFFECT OF POTASSIUM AND EARTHING UP ON GROWTH, YIELD AND ECONOMIC BENEFIT OF CARROT

Abstract

The experiment was conducted in the Horticultural Farm of Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Dhaka-1207, Bangladesh. The experiment consisted of two factors. Factor A: Different levels of potassium as K 0 = Control, K 1 II = 100 kg K/ha, K 2 = 120 kg K/ha, K 3 = 140 kg K/ha and Factor B: E 0 = no earthing up, E 1 = two times earthing up, E 2 = three times earthing up. The experiment was laid out in a Randomized Complete Block Design with three replications. The collected data were statistically analyzed. Results revealed that in terms of potassium application, the highest gross yield of roots/ha (38.35 t) and marketable yield of roots/ha (35.32 t) were recorded from the application of K 2 (120 kg K/ha) treatment compared to K 0 (control) treatment. Again, in terms of different earthing up treatments, the highest gross yield of roots/ha (35.71 t) and marketable yield of roots/ha (34.75 t) were found from the treatment E 2 (three times earthing up) compared to E 0 (no earthing up) treatment. Both potassium and earthing up and their combination showed significant variation on different parameters of carrot. The highest gross yield of roots/ha (43.51 t) and marketable yield of roots/ha (42.29 t) were found from the treatment combination of K 2 E 2 (120 kg K/ha + three times earthing up) compared to K 0 E 0 (control) treatment combination. The highest gross return (Tk. 507480), net return (Tk. 313782) and BCR (2.62) were obtained from the treatment combination K 2 E 2 (120 kg K/ha + three times earthing up) where the lowest gross return (Tk. 240360), net return (Tk. 83478) and BCR (1.53) were obtained from K 0 (control) treatment combination. So, It can be concluded that 120 kg K/ha with three times earthing up was the best for carrot cultivation.