Potential of Integrated Nutrient Management to Rehabilitate the Dieback-Affected Mango Cultivar Sammer Bahisht Chaunsa

Abstract

The mango cultivar Summer Bahisht (SB) Chaunsa is the most sensitive and susceptible to dieback disease among other cultivars. Despite the environmental variables, low nutritional value contributes to the drastic prevalence of the disease. Therefore, it was hypothesized that providing balanced nutrition through an integrated nutrient approach could rehabilitate plants affected by dieback disease. Treatments were NPK at the recommended dose (control), NPK + farmyard manure, NPK + press mud, NPK + poultry litter, and NPK + city effluent, and NPK + sulfur. Sulfur was applied at 3 kg per plant, while the organic amendments were applied at 100 kg per plant NPK was applied at the recommended dose per square feet of tree canopy. Leaf samples were taken 5 months after treatment application. Results were analyzed through two-way ANOVA analysis using R statistical language software. Although the disease recovery rate was slow and we did not find any plant that recovered one year after treatment application, the reduction in disease was prominent in the treatment where poultry litter + NPK was applied. The poultry litter with the recommended NPK treatment showed 20% and 50% reductions in disease intensity in the 2nd and 3rd years of the experiment, respectively, as compared to NPK alone.