Abstract:
Organic fertilizers, derived from plant, animal, or mineral sources, play a
pivotal role in sustainable agriculture by enhancing soil fertility and
contributing to a positive ecosystem. Unlike synthetic fertilizers, known for
rapid nutrient release and potential environmental harm,organic fertilizers
release nutrients gradually, meeting plant requirements while reducing
leaching. Aligning with ecological farming principles, organic fertilizers
minimize the carbon footprint in agriculture. However, current organic liquid
fertilizers exhibit limited boosting ability compared to chemical growth
boosters, affecting flower and yield outcomes. This studyaims to develop an
organic liquid fertilizer with growth and yield-boosting capabilities along
with pest control properties. The fertilizer, fermented and prepared using
banana, papaya, woodapple fruits and peels, moringa tender leaves and
flowers, neem tender leaves, wild sunflower leaves, molasses, and old
compost as an inoculum, resulted in two formulations: raw liquid fertilizer
and nano emulsion liquid fertilizer. Testing these formulations on okra plants
under sixtreatments, in comparison with Albert Solution® chemical liquid
fertilizer, revealed significant differences in plant height, number of leaves,
and yield (P<0.005). The highest yield was observed in treatments cultivated
in topsoil + liquid fertilizer, while lower yields were recorded in liquid
fertilizer + sand media. However, consistently higher yields were obtained in
topsoil and compost-treated plants with organic liquid fertilizer. The days of
flowering onset were influenced by the liquid organic fertilizer, with the nano
emulsion formulation showing an average flowering onset of 53 days.
However, these preliminary results suggest a possible positive effect on plant
growth and yield increase, but further experiments are required for
conclusive results
