Abstract:
This research was conducted at the Regional Agriculture Research and Development
Centre in Kilinochchi to evaluate the combine effect of vermicompost, fish tonic and
Trichoderma viride with inorganic fertilizer (NPK) application on groundnut (Arachis
hypogaea L.) growth and yield. The field experiment was laid out in RCBD, with 3
replicates and 9 treatments: T1 (control), T2 (vermicompost + fish tonic + T. viride),
T3 (vermicompost + fish tonic), T4 (vermicompost + T. viride), T5 (vermicompost), T6
(NPK + fish tonic + T. viride), T7 (NPK + fish tonic), T8 (NPK + T. viride), T9 (NPK). The
application of fish tonic was carried out at weekly intervals. Growth parameters such
as days to 50% flowering, plant height, number of branches and plant width, and yield
parameters such as number of total pegs with pods, number of matured pods, one
plant yield and plot yield were taken. The data was analyzed using SAS (9.4) package.
Results of the growth parameters indicated that the T4 showed better performance
with days to 50% flowering, plant height, number of branches and plant width and for
yield attributes. The T8 showed the highest number of total pegs with pods (51) and
matured pods (44). Furthermore, the T8 resulted in the highest yield per plant (52.33
g) and the highest plot yield (5.01 ton/ha). It could be concluded that the application of
vermicompost with T. viride, and NPK with T. viride have a significant (p<0.05) impact on
groundnut growth and yield, respectively.
