Effect of Organics and Spacing on the Growth, Yield and Economics of Brahmi (Bacopa monnieri) in Coastal Part of West Bengal

Abstract:

The field experiment was conducted at the Instructional Farm, School of Agriculture and Allied Sciences,

The Neotia University, South 24 Parganas, West Bengal, during the kharif season of 2023 to study the effects

of organics and spacing on the growth attributes, yield attributes, yield and economics of brahmi. Key

soil characteristics include sand (58.89%), silt (21.64%) and clay (20.03%) in the top 15 cm layer. The soil’s

chemical composition includes a pH of 7.43, electrical conductivity (EC) of 0.62 dS m-1 and nutrient levels

such as 368 kg ha-1 of available nitrogen, 25.75 kg ha-1 of available P2O5 and 323 kg ha-1 of exchangeable K

and 0.36% organic carbon. The experiment was laid out in a split plot design, replicated thrice, including

four levels of organics (M1: 2T Cow dung compost /ha, M2: 2T Cow dung compost/ha + Jeevamruta, M3:

3T Cow dung compost/ha, M4: 3T Cow dung compost/ha + Jeevamruta) and four spacings (S1: 20 × 10 cm,

S2: 20 × 20 cm, S3: 30 × 10 cm, S4: 30 × 20 cm). Results indicated that the highest plant height (36.21 cm),

dry matter accumulation (181.45 g m-²), Leaf Area Index (0.87) and Crop Growth Rate (3.34 g m-² day?¹)

were observed with 3T Cow dung compost/ha + Jeevamruta. Application of 3T Cow dung compost/ha +

Jeevamruta also recorded maximum number of rooted slips (879.41 m-2), dry wt. of leafy twigs with roots

(234.20 g m-2) and green herb yield (183.16 q ha-1) of brahmi. Among the spacing’s 30 × 20 cm spacing i.e.

S4 recorded highest number of rooted slips (748.66 m-2), dry wt. of leafy twigs with roots (215.95 g m-2)

and green herb yield (146.86 q ha-1).