Introduction

Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.), popularly called vegetable meat, is globally recognized as the third most significant pulse crop, following beans and peas. Botanically, cowpea belongs to the family Leguminosae and the subfamily Fabaceae. It is the only cultivated species in the genus Cicer and a self-pollinated diploid (2n = 2x = 16) crop (Varshney et al., 2013). It is a rich source of nutrients such as proteins (23%), carbohydrates (40%), vitamins, and essential amino acids (Jukanti et al., 2012). Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is an important pulse crop grown and consumed all over the world, especially in the Afro-Asian countries. It is a good source of carbohydrates and protein, and protein quality is considered to be better than other pulses. Chickpea has significant amounts of all the essential amino acids except sulphur-containing amino acids, which can be complemented by adding cereals to the daily diet. Starch is the major storage carbohydrate followed by dietary fibre, oligosaccharides and simple sugars such as glucose and sucrose. Although lipids are present in low amounts, chickpea is rich in nutritionally important unsaturated fatty acids such as linoleic and oleic acids. β-Sitosterol, campesterol and stigmasterol are important sterols present in chickpea oil. Ca, Mg, P and, especially, K are also present in chickpea seeds. Chickpea is a good source of important vitamins such as riboflavin, niacin, thiamin, folate and the vitamin A precursor β-carotene. As with other pulses, chickpea seeds also contain anti-nutritional factors which can be reduced or eliminated by different cooking techniques. Chickpea has several potential health benefits, and, in combination with other pulses and cereals, it could have beneficial effects on some of the important human diseases such as CVD, type 2 diabetes, digestive diseases and some cancers. Overall, chickpea is an important pulse crop with a diverse array of potential nutritional and health benefits (Jukanti et al., 2012). Chickpea seeds contain more β-carotene than golden rice endosperm based on dry weight, as reported by Ye et al. (2000) and Abbo et al. (2005).

The area under cultivation of chickpeas in Nepal is about 17,005 ha with production and productivity only of 9,380 tons and 0.55 tons/ha, respectively (STATISTICAL-INFORMATION-ON-NEPALESE-AGRICULTURE-2071-72.Pdf, n.d.). Though the cultivated area of chickpea occupies an area to a great extent but its overall productivity in Nepal is comparatively low due to various factors. Since most of the soil is going to be depleted against the nutrients due to the continuous use of chemical fertilizer and imbalanced nutrition. The excessive and unbalanced use of chemical fertilizers has led to various issues such as a decrease in soil organic matter, rising salinity and sodicity, increased soil pollution, and heightened risks from pests and diseases (Chakrarborti and Singh, 2004).

Organic manures are very good source for the growth and development of microorganisms. Organic fertilizers such as farmyard manure, vermicompost, poultry manure, and oilcake aid in enhancing soil structure, promoting better aeration, and increasing the soil's capacity to hold water. Further, it boosts microbial activity, facilitating enhanced biological processes that aid the plant in obtaining both macro and micronutrients, thus increasing nutrient solubility. Moreover, organic manures also enhance the utilization efficiency of inorganic fertilizers (Singh and Biswas, 2000).

Integrated use of organic and inorganic fertilizers could help to uphold crop yield strength through the alleviation of deficiencies of nutrients, increasing the efficiency of the applied nutrients, and offering a favorable soil atmosphere (Muddukumar, 2007). Integrated nutrient management aims to sustain crop productivity by supplying essential plant nutrients while minimizing harm to soil health and the environment (Balasubramanian, 1999) .

There is a scope for improving the production potential of this crop by use of organic manures, inorganic manures and biofertilizers. Hence,The main objective of the present study is to assess the effect of integrated nutrient management on the growth and yield of chickpeas.

1 Materials and Methods

The experiment was conducted at the Research Farm of Agro Nine Company Pvt. Ltd., Madi, Chitwan, Geographically situated at 27°26’N latitude and 84°18’E longitude at an altitude of 200 m above mean sea level. The weather parameters were optimum for the chickpea crop. There were no drought weeks during the crop growth period. The soil is identified as sandy clay loam with poor aggregation. The pH of the soil is 7.6.

The Dhanush variety of Chickpea was subjected to a Randomized Block Design (RBD) experimental setup. This design encompassed 12 treatments replicated across 3 blocks. The dimensions of the plots were as follows: a gross size of 5.0 m × 3.6 m, and a net size of 4.0 m × 2.7 m, with a spacing of 1.5 m between replications and 1.0 m between individual plots. The rows were spaced 30 cm apart, with plants spaced 10 cm from one another. The seeding rate applied was 80 kg/ha, while the recommended fertilizer dosage included NPK at 20:40:20 kg/ha (https://molmac.lumbini.gov.np/publications/46).

The experiment consisted of twelve treatments as follows: T1 with 125% RDF, T2 with RDF alone, T3 with RDF supplemented with 25% FYM on a nitrogen basis, T4 with RDF supplemented with 25% vermicompost on a nitrogen basis, T5 with RDF supplemented with 25% Poultry Manure on a nitrogen basis, T6 with 50% RDF and 50% FYM on a nitrogen basis, T7 with 50% RDF and 50% vermicompost on a nitrogen basis, T8 with 50% RDF and 50% Poultry Manure on a nitrogen basis, T9 with 75% RDF and 25% FYM on a nitrogen basis, T10 with 75% RDF and 25% vermicompost on a nitrogen basis, T11 with 75% RDF and 25% Poultry Manure on a nitrogen basis, and T12 serving as the control group.

The FYM (0.5% N, 0.21% P₂O₅ and 0.45% K₂O), vermicompost (1.31% N, 0.9% P₂O₅ and 1.40% K₂O) and Poultry manure (1.2% N, 0.95% P₂O₅ and 0.6% K₂O) were incorporated into the soil as per treatments 5 days before sowing. Recommended doses of fertilizers were applied in the form of DAP and murate of potash as per treatments. Five plants in each plot were selected and were tagged and numbered. Observations for each treatment were taken on these plants.

The observations were made on the growth and yield of the Chickpea. Pre-harvest studies like Plant height, Number of branches, Number of compound leaves, Number of nodules and Number of pods were studied. Similarly, Post-harvest studies like Grain yield, Stover yield, Biological yield, Test weight and Harvest Index were studied.

2 Results and Analysis

2.1 Pre-harvest studies

The data revealed that different treatments significantly affected the plant height at different growth stages (Table 1). After 30, 60 and 90 days of sowing, the significantly highest plant height was recorded with treatment T4 followed by treatment T3 and T5 respectively whereas, the significantly lowest plant height was observed with control treatment. At harvest, the significantly highest plant height was observed with treatment T4 over other treatments except treatment T3 which was statistically similar to treatment T4 while, the significantly lowest plant height was observed in treatment T12 (control). Similarly, vermicompost amendments were reported to increase the plant heights of potatoes (Alam, 2007). Ali and Kashem (2018) found comparable outcomes regarding cabbage plant height when influenced by the combination of inorganic fertilizer and vermicompost.

Similarly, the results indicated that (Table 1), during the growing period, the significantly maximum number of branches, compound leaves, nodules and pods per plant was recorded in treatment T4 over all treatments. The significantly minimum number of such attributes was observed in treatment T12 (control). The growth parameters of chickpeas likely increased due to the higher availability of nutrients from the recommended dose of fertilizers (RDF) combined with vermicompost, facilitating the synthesis of nucleic acids, amino acids, and amide substances in the growing region and meristematic tissue, thereby enhancing cell division and leading to increased growth attributes in these treatments. All integrated nutrient levels outperformed the control group in plant height, branches per plant, seeds per pod, pods per plant, grain weight, stover yield, grain yield, biological yield, and harvest index during the study. 

The application of vermicompost, either alone or in combination with other organic or chemical fertilizers, has been demonstrated to effectively enhance the growth and yield of various plants, which was supported by (Singh et al., 2011) in French bean and (Javed and Panwar, 2013) in black gram and Soyabean. Plant growth and development are facilitated by the existence of humic acids (Arancon et al., 2005) and the presence of micro and macronutrients within vermicompost (Atiyeh et al., 2000). Atiyeh et al. (2000) demonstrated that vermicomposts have the potential to enhance plant growth when incorporated into soil. The growth and yield of various plants are boosted by vermicompost, which offers high porosity, aeration, drainage, and water-holding capacity along with beneficial microflora (Tomati et al., 1987). Islam et al. (2016) demonstrated that the highest pod number was observed with the vermicompost treatment.

2.2 Post-harvest studies

It is clearly evident from the data that the grain yield, stover yield, Biological yield, test weight and harvest index of chickpea were deviated significantly due to various treatments (Table 2). The significantly highest grain yield, stover yield and Biological yield were obtained under the treatment T4, while, significantly lowest results were obtained with treatment T12 (Control).

The observed effects could be attributed to the application of RDF alongside vermicompost, which enhanced the physicochemical and biological properties of the soil, thereby promoting vigorous plant growth, increased production of functioning leaves, and greater accumulation of carbohydrates and proteins, which were then translocated to the reproductive organs, ultimately resulting in enhanced crop yield. Similar findings were reported by Verma et al. (2017) in chickpeas. Additionally, Singh and Singh (2014) noted significant differences in harvest index under these treatments, possibly due to proportionately higher grain production compared to straw yield.

The increased mobilization of photosynthates to developing seeds due to the application of macronutrients could be the reason for the increase in the test weight of the seed. Significant effects were observed on the growth and yield of beans in plots fertilized with a combination of 50% vermicompost supplemented with Inorganic fertilizer. In plots treated with NPK and Vermicompost, pod length, the number of seeds per pod, the number of pods per plant, and pod weight were notably higher (Manivannan et al., 2009). Vermicompost acts as a naturally generated, slow-release supplier of plant nutrients, and incorporating it has been proven to enhance plant dry weight. Combining vermicompost with chemical fertilizer has been found to enhance leaf area index, making plants more photosynthetically active and leading to improvements in yield attributes (Sharma and Mitra, 1988). The inclusion of vermicompost led to a notable positive impact on the growth, yield, and elemental content of plants compared to the control group. Plots treated with vermicompost exhibited a significant increase in plant height, leaf length, and fruit yield of pepper plants (Narkhede et al., 2011). The application of vermicompost improves soil's physical and chemical conditions, leading to enhanced uptake by plants, ultimately resulting in increased growth, yield, and quality of beans (Manivannan et al., 2009).

(Kumar et al., 2018) conducted a trial to find out the effect of integrated nutrient management on the growth, yield and economies of chickpeas. Based on experimental results, it was found that the highest grain yield was recorded with the treatment RDF, Vermicompost at 5 tonnes per ha, Rhizobium culture and PSB applied.

3 Conclusion

From this study, it is recommended that the recommended dose of NPK fertilizer along with 25% vermicompost may be more beneficial in terms of growth and productivity. The significantly highest grain yield (2,799.73 kg/ha) and stover yield (3,737.65 kg/ha) was obtained under the treatment T4 (RDF + 25% vermicompost) followed by the treatments T3 (2,643.42 kg/ha and 3,568.62 kg/ha) and T5 (2,406.73 kg/ha and 3,321.29 kg/ha) while, significantly lowest grain yield (742.56 kg/ha) and stover yield (1,127.20 kg/ha) were obtained with treatment T12 (control). The significantly highest biological yield of chickpea (6,537.38 kg/ha) was obtained under treatment T4 (RDF + 25% vermicompost) over other treatments followed by T3 and T5. It is suggested that the application of a recommended dose of fertilizer with 25% vermicompost is a more scientific management of nutrients in sandy loam soil for chickpea crops in Madi Valley of Chitwan, Nepal.

Authors’ contributions

KPU: Contribution to design and implementation of the research, interpretation of the results, writing the manuscript. AC: Implementation of the research, analysis of data, interpretation of the results, writing the manuscript. Both authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Conflict of Interest Disclosure

The authors affirm that this research was conducted without any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

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