Abstract:
Fruit peels are rich in essential plant nutrients. Nowadays, the demand for
organic fertilizer was increased. Therefore, the experiment was conducted to determine
the effect of banana and citrus fruit peel-based nutrition sources on the growth and yield
of lettuce. The experiment was arranged in a Completely Randomized Design with nine
treatments and four replicates separately for powder and liquid form. In powder form, T1
(Control) – Only ½ recommended compost, T2 – ½ recommended compost + 2g of fruit
peel powder, T3- ½ recommended compost + 4g of fruit peel powder, T4 – ½
recommended compost + 6g of fruit peel powder, T5 – ½ recommended compost + 8g
of fruit peel powder, T6 – Only 2g of fruit peel powder, T7 – Only 4g of fruit peel powder,
T8 – Only 6g of fruit peel powder, T9 – Only 8g of fruit peel powder. In liquid form, T1
(Control) – Only ½ recommended compost, T2 – ½ recommended compost + C1
concentration (1 cup fruit peels + 1000 mL water) , T3 – ½ recommend compost + C2
concentration (2 cups fruit peels + 1000 mL water) , T4 – ½ recommended compost +
C3 concentration (3 cups fruit peels + 1000 mL water), T5 – ½ recommended compost
+ C4 concentration (4 cups fruit peels + 1000 mL water) , T6 – Only C1 concentration,
T7 – Only C2 concentration, T8 – Only C3 concentration, T9 – Only C4 concentration.
Quantitative parameters were measured. Data were analyzed by using Minitab
software. In powder form, T3 was shown high fresh weight (205.703 ± 0.949) and a high
number of leaves (20.667 ± 0.577) among all other treatments. In liquid form, T2 was
provided with high fresh weight (261.33 ± 2.74) and a high number of leaves (20.667 ±
1.155) among other all treatments. Therefore, the present study paved a way for finding
the best amount of fruit peel powder and the best concentration of fruit peel tea for
lettuce.
