ABSTRACT

The field experiment was conducted during 2023-24 Kharif season at ICAR- KVK, Indi, Vijayapura, to study the influence of NPK fertilizer doses on Dragon fruit. The experiment was laid out in split plot design with two dragon fruit species in main plot as F1- Red pulped (Selenicereus polyrhizus) and F2- White pulped (Selenicereus undatus) and five nutrient managements practices (N1-Absolute control, N2–15 kg FYM + 200:50:50 g N:P2O5:K2O per pole, N3-15 kg FYM+200:250:100 g N:P2O5:K2O per pole, N4-15 kg FYM+ 300:200:200 g N:P2O5:K2O per pole, N5-15 kg FYM+ 450:350:300 g N:P2O5:K2O per pole) in sub plot. Among fruit species, red pulped (175.0 cm, 4.95 t ha-1, and 10.22 0Brix, respectively) showed better performance in terms of plant height, fruit yield and TSS content compared to white pulped (171.8cm, 4.05 t ha-1 and 9.75 °Brix, respectively). Among nutrient management treatment, N4 was recorded significantly higher plant height (184.2 and 178.8 cm), number of branches per pole (16.0 and 15.1), flower count (25.51 and 22.21), fruit yield (5.91 and 5.04 t ha-1) and shelf life (11.51 and 11.04 days) in both red and white pulped fruit species respectively compared to N1. Treatment N4 was given higher gross returns (Rs. 3,05,833 and 2,52,167 ha-1), net returns (Rs. 2,73,166 and 2,19,500 ha-1) and B: C ratio (9.36 and 7.71) in both red and white pulped fruit species respectively compared to N1. The highest shoot accumulation of total nitrogen (1.89 and 1.83 %), phosphorus (0.28 and 0.24 %) and potassium (1.89 and 1.83 %) were observed in N4 in both red pulped and white pulped dragon fruit species, respectively. Application of NPK fertilizers with FYM has positive effect on growth, yield, quality and economics of dragon fruit. Thus, it is concluded that cultivation of red pulped dragon fruit species with 15 kg FYM+ 300:200:200 g per pole is profitable in NDZ of Karnataka.