The essential feature of nutrient management is the better utilization of applied

nutrients by the plants. The process of utilization of nutrients either alone or

in combination at a time or in a definite sequence in relation to the growth and
developmental stages of the crop and identification of an appropriate technique to
supplement the nutrient for a given stage of growth can be better termed as
“Integrated Nutrient Management”. The integrated nutrient management (INM)
approach for crop husbandry is gaining momentum, since it is economically cheap,
technically sound, practically feasible and paves the way for sustainable
agriculture. One part of INM involves the integrated use of inorganic fertilizers
in combination with organic manures to sustain optimum yields and to improve the
soil fertility (Abrol and Katyal, 1990).
Literature pertaining to the effect of Integrated Nutrient Management on growth,
yield and quality of brinjal and also different vegetable crops has been briefly
reviewed below.

EFFECT OF INORGANIC NUTRITION ON GROWTH PARAMETERS

Plant height
James et al. (1967) observed that phosphorus application increased plant
height in sweet peppers.
Kanju and George, (1969) reported that the beneficial effect of nitrogen on
plant height has been well recognized in chilli.
George (1969) observed that phosphorus application at 40 or 60 Kg ha-1
increased the plant height in chill.
Nathulal and pundrik (1971) found that with increased levels of nitrogen
application increased the plant height in chilli.
Phosphorus induced increase in plant height upto 70 Kg ha-1 and further
increase in its dose resulted in reduction in the height of plants in chilli
(Nathulal and Pundrik, 1971)
Randhava et al. (1976) observed that application of higher dose of potassium @ 60
kg ha-1 increased the plant height in tomato.
In bell pepper, Khavel (1977) recorded that application of 240 or 300 g Nm-2
increased the height of plants under green house condition.
Rajagopal et al. (1977) reported progressive increase in height of plants to
the level of 78.8 and 77 cm in the treatments receiving 150 and 120 kg N ha-1
respectively compared to control in chilli (56.5cm).
Doikova (1977) opined that FYM alone was less effective in promoting the
growth of egg plants than the mineral fertilizers. The plant height and dry
matter content were found to be the highest in brinjal plants when they were
applied at 50 kg N ha-1 as poultry manure and 50 kg N ha-1 as urea.
Srinivas, (1982) reported increase in plant height in capsicum with the
application of nitrogen.
The plant height of chilli increased with increase in the level of
phosphorus but the differences did not show any marked increase in phosphorus
levels (Srinivas, 1983).
Vangamudi et al. (1985) reported that application of potassium
@ 2.25 g/pot increased the plant height in tomato.
Aliyur and Yusud (1991) noted that the higher levels of nitrogen
(120 and 180 kg ha-1) significantly increased the plant height compared to the
lower level (60 kg N ha-1) in chilli.
Nazeerahmed and Tanki (1991) observed increase in plant height with increase
in nitrogen level. The plant receiving higher dose of nitrogen
90 kg ha-1 was taller (68.89 cm) as compared to lower dose of 30 kg ha-1 in
chilli.
Srivastava, et al. (1993) recorded maximum height of plant and length of
petiole with the application of 200 kg P2O5 in sweet pepper.
Thirukkaivelu et al. (1996) reported that maximum plant height was obtained
when FYM alone was applied at the rate of 50 t ha-1 in brinjal C.V Annamalai.
Shelke et al. (1999) revealed that application of 40% N through urea and 60% N
through poultry manure increased the plant height in brinjal.
Naidu et al. (2002) observed the increase in plant height (76.24 cm) of
brinjal with the application of NPK at 100:60:50 and FYM at 20 t ha-1.
Patil et al. (2004) reported that application of 50% RDF and 50% FYM increased the
plant height in tomato.
NUMBER OF BRANCHES
James et al. (1967) observed that phosphorus application increased number of
branches per plant in sweet pepper.
Mehrotra (1968) observed significantly impaired branching in chilli due to
the deficiency of phosphorus.
Kanju and George (1969) observed that phosphorus application at 40 or 60 kg
ha 1 increased the number of branches in chilli.
Nathulal and Pundrik, (1971) found that with increase in the levels of
nitrogen application increased the number of branches per plant in chilli.
Dass and Mishra, (1972) observed maximum number of branches per plant
(6.2) by the application of 250 kg ha-1 of nitrogen in chilli.
Chougule and Mahajan (1978) also indicated that the volume of plant and
number of main branches were significantly influenced due to higher
(200 kg ha-1) and medium dose (150 kg ha-1) of nitrogen application in chilli.
Kadhum et al. (1987) reported the application of organic manure increased
the number of lateral branches per plant in brinjal.
Prabhakar et al. (1987) found significant increase in the number of branches per
plant with nitrogen fertilization upto the level of 60 kg N ha-1 in chilli.
Application of graded doses of phosphorus (20, 40 and 60 kg ha-1) increased the
height of plant and number of branches per plant in chilli cv. Pant C1 (Joseph
and Balakrishnan pillai, 1987).
Singh and Maurya (1992) reported that the response of phosphorus was significant
on the growth of brinjal. The maximum vegetative growth was recorded with plants
receiving 60 kg of P2O5 ha-1. In a study using 4 levels of nitrogen, phosphorus
and potassium (20, 40, 60 and 80 kg ha-1), it was observed that the plant height
and number of branches increased linearly with an increase in the level of
nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.
Sharma et al. (1995) stated that maximum plant height, number of branches per
plant were recorded in a treatment combination of 240 kg N and 60 kg P2O5 ha-1 in
brinjal.
Shelke et al. (1999) observed that application of 40% N through urea and 60% N
through poultry manure increased the number of branches per plant in brinjal.
Number of leaves
Kadhum et al. (1987) reported that organic manures increased the number of leaves
per plant in brinjal.
In sweet pepper hybrid Bharath, the number of leaves (136.50) were found to be
maximum when it received 250:200:200 kg NPK ha-1 (Shrivastava et
al., 1993).
Shelke et al. (1999) revealed that application of 40% N through urea and 60% N
through poultry manure increased the number of leaves per plant in brinjal.
Naidu et al. (2002) reported that application of 50 kg N + 35 kg P2O5 + 2.5 t
vermicompost ha-1 increased the number of leaves per plant in brinjal.
Patil et al. (2004) observed that application of 50% RDF and 50% FYM increased the
number of branches per plant in tomato.
Stem Girth
Singh and Maurya (1992) stated that growth parameters like plant height, number of
branches per plant, stem diameter, plant spread were found to be significantly
increased with increasing levels of N upto 120 kg ha-1 in brinjal.
Anburani and Manivannan (2002) reported that application of FYM at 25 t ha-1 with
100% recommended dose of fertilizers and 2 kg of each bio-fertilizers increased
the stem girth (3.71 cm) in Brinjal.
Fresh weight and drymatter content of plants
James et al. (1967) observed significant increase in total drymatter production
due to the application of nitrogen in chilli.
Kanju and George (1969) recorded higher drymatter production per plant with the
application of 40 or 60 kg P2O5 ha-1 in chilli.
Chougule and Mahajan (1978) reported that the drymatter content was significantly
influenced by the application of medium and higher doses of nitrogen (150 and 200
kg ha-1) respectively.
Further they stated that the drymatter per plant was increased significantly due
to different levels of phosphorus (60 and 120 kg ha-1) in chilli.
Patil and Bojappa (1984) inferred that increase in nitrogen significantly
increased total sugars and drymatter content in tomato fruits.
Vangamudi et al. (1985) reported application of potassium @ 2.25 g/pot increased
the drymatter content in tomato.
Kulvindersingh and Srivastava (1988) observed increased trend in drymatter
accumulation in root and shoot with the progressive increase in nitrogen level in
chilli.
Abdulkadir and Sharanappa (2002) reported that poultry manure composted with crop
residues at 1:1 ratio recorded higher drymatter production in maize.
Number of days to flowering
Rahimkhan and Suryanarayana (1973) observed that application of N 120 kg ha-1 and
45 kg ha-1 each of P2O5 and K2O resulted in earlier flowering in chilli.
Anand and Muthukrishnan (1974) reported that application of 100 kg K2O ha-1
increased the number of flowers in chilli.
Khan and Suryanarayana (1977) reported that the number of days to flowering was
reduced by phosphorus from 60 days to 53 and 45 days in chilli.
Joseph and Balakrishnanpillai (1987) recorded earliness in flowering due to the
application 60 kg P2O5 ha-1 in a trial conducted for two seasons. Plants treated
with higher dose of P2O5 produced larger number of flowers than control in chilli.
Subhani et al. (1990) reported that the time taken for 50 per cent flowering was
found to increase with increased of split doses of N and K in chilli.
Drastic reduction in the number of flowers was recorded in chilli in phosphorus
deficient plants (Roychoudhury et al., 1990).
In brinjal a treatmental combination of 240 kg N and 60 kg P2O5 ha-1 significantly
increased the number of days to 50% flowering (50.45) (Sharma and Bhalla, 1995).
Rafi et al. (2002) reported that application of 25% of recommended dose of
fertilizers and 75% of teracare increased the number of days to 50% flowering
(37.80) in brinjal.
Naidu et al. (2002) reported that application of 75 kg nitrogen along with 35 kg
P2O5 and 25 t FYM ha-1 gave earliest 50% flowering in brinjal.
Number of flowers per plant
Kanju and George (1969) reported that phosphorus showed earliness in flowering
slightly with the application of 40 or 60 kg P2O5 ha-1 in chilli.
Gill et al. (1974) observed early flowering with the application of
250 kg N ha-1 as compared to higher dose in sweet pepper cv. Yolo wonder.
Covarelli (1976) noted that phosphorus increased the number of the earlier flowers
in sweet pepper.
Ramachandran and Subbaiah (1982) observed that the number of days taken for
flowering was significantly influenced by nitrogen application and early flowering
with the lowest level of nitrogen (40 kg ha-1) in chilli.
Dange et al. (2001) stated that application of 50% RDF and 50% Tercare increased
the number of flowers per plant in brinjal.
EFFECT OF INM ON YIELD AND YIELD ATTRIBUTES
Percentage of fruit set
Nanthakumar and Veeraragavathatham (1999) reported significant increase in the
percentage of fruit set in brinjal with the application of both organic and
inorganic sources of manures than the crop that received NPK alone.
Dange et al. (2001) stated that application of 50% RDF and 50% Celrich increased
the percentage of fruitset in brinjal.
Rafi (2002) observed that the application of 50% RDF + 50% FYM increased the
percentage of fruitset in brinjal.
Anburani and Manivannan (2002) reported that application of FYM @ 25 t ha-1, 100%
RDF (Nitrogen + Phosphorus) with a constant dose of potassium @ 100:50:50 kg NPK
ha-1 in addition to bio-fertilizers @ 2 kg ha-1 increased the percentage of fruit
set in brinjal cv Annamalai.
Number of fruits per plant
Gill et al. (1974) observed that higher dose of nitrogen and phosphorus increased
the number of fruits per plant in sweet pepper.
Singh et al. (1998) found that application of 30 t ha-1 FYM in potato increased
the number of tubers per plant.
Nanthakumar and Veeraragavathatham (1999) reported that the number of fruits per
plant increased with the use of organic and inorganic manures than that received
NPK alone in brinjal.
Dange et al. (2001) reported that the application of 50% recommended dose of
fertilizers and 50% celrich increased the number of fruits per plant in brinjal.
Naidu et al. (2002) revealed that the application of NPK @ 100:60:50 and 20 t
farmyard manure ha-1 increased the number of fruits per plant in brinjal.
Mohanthy et al. (2001) reported that application of N, P and K @ 120, 60 and 30 kg
ha-1 respectively resulted in the maximum number of fruits in chilli cv. Utkal
Rashmi.
Patil (2004) revealed that application of 50% RDF + 50% FYM or vermicompost
increased the number of fruits per plant in tomato.
Rajbirsingh and Ramasrey (2005) stated that application of 25 t ha-1 of FYM
increased the number of fruits per plant in tomato.
Fruit length
Nathulal and Pundrik (1971) stated that nitrogen and phosphorus application
exhibited a direct relationship with the fruit length and fruit weight. The
combined effect of nitrogen @ 100 kg, phosphorus @ 90 kg and potassium @ 50 kg ha-
1 resulted in the maximum fruit length and fruit weight in chilli.
Shibilamany and Balakrishnan (1990) reported that application of nitrogen @ 87.5
kg ha-1 and potassium @ 52.5 kg ha-1 showed the highest pod length in chilli cv.
K2.
In brinjal, nearly 100-150 kg nitrogen ha-1 should be applied depending upon the
type of soil from medium to heavy fertility for obtaining good crop. The fruit
length increased with increasing dose of nitrogen application (Subramanian et al.,
1993).
Naidu et al. (2002) stated that application of 75 kg N + 35 kg P2O5 +
25 t FYM ha-1 increased the fruit length in brinjal.
Fruit girth
Shibilamany and Balakrishnan (1990) stated that application of nitrogen @ 87.5 kg
ha-1 and potassium @ 52.5 kg ha-1 recorded the highest pod girth in chilli cv. K2.
Subramanian et al. (1993) reported that application of 100-150 kg nitrogen ha-1
increased the fruit girth in brinjal.
Dange et al. (2001) reported that application of 50% recommended dose of
fertlizers and 50% celrich recorded the highest fruit girth in brinjal.
Naidu et al. (2002) reported that with the application of 75 kg N + 35 kg P2O5 +
25 t FYM ha-1 increased the fruit girth (23.45 cm) in brinjal.
Fruit weight
Anand and Muthukrishnan (1974) reported that application of
100 kg K2O ha-1 increased the fruit weight in chilli.
Kadhum et al. (1987) found that application of organic manures increased the fruit
weight of brinjal.
Subramanian et al. (1993) observed the increase of fruit weight with increased
dose of nitrogen application in brinjal.
Nanthakumar and Veeraragavathatham (1999) recorded the greater fruit weight in the
crop fertilized with both organic and inorganic manures in brinjal.
Rafi et al. (2002) reported that application of 50% recommended dose of fertilizes
and 50% farmyard manure increased the fruit weight in brinjal.
Rajbir Singh and Ramasrey (2005) stated that application of farmyard manure @ 10
to 25 t ha-1 significantly increased the average fruit weight in tomato.
Fruit yield per plant
Sahney and Daji (1961) stated that 60-80 pounds of phosphorus per acre should
applied prior to planting to obtain increased production in brinjal.
Winsor (1962) stated that application of potassium 120 kg K2O ha-1 increased the
yield per plant in tomato.
Ramanthan (1965) opined that balanced and complete application of NPK fertilizers
were needed for increased yield and higher returns of chilli.
Kamalanthan et al. (1969) reported that application of 50 kg P2O5 ha-1 produced
maximum yield in brinjal.
Mertia and Chauhan (1970) reported that the yield was increased from 1.33 to 3.33
kg plant-1 when 45 kg ha-1 of P2O5 was applied in brinjal.
Iruthayaraj and Kulandaivelu (1973) observed that the dose of NPK at 90:60:60 kg
ha-1 gave the highest yield and was most profitable in chilli.
Sulikeri et al. (1977) reported that application of phosphorus
@ 50 kg ha-1 produced the highest yield in brinjal cv. Malapur.
Application of major nutrients in the absence of farmyard manure retarded the
formation of vegetative structure and subsequently the reproductive organs in
brinjal. The yield was increased in the combination of organic and inorganic
fertilizers than using them separately (Cerna, 1981).
The maximum yield was obtained in brinjal when farmyard manure @
37.5 t ha-1 combined with 100 per cent of the recommended inorganic fertilizers
(50:50:30 kg NPK ha-1) was applied (Subbaiah et al., 1983).
Jose et al. (1988) reported that the yield of 51 t ha-1 was obtained in plants
received 50 kg ha-1 of N as poultry manure and 50 kg N ha-1 as urea in brinjal
cv. MDU-1.
Subesingh et al. (1988) found in an experiment conducted for two years that the
highest yields of 68.72 and 122.21 q ha-1 were obtained when 40
kg ha-1 of phosphorus was applied as basal dose in brinjal.
Reddy et al. (1990) reported that phosphorus application @ 150 kg ha-1 in a crop
planted at a spacing of 60 x 30 cm produced 17.57 t ha-1 in brinjal cv.
Pusa Kranthi.
Meena Nair and Peter (1990) stated that the application of FYM in chilli @ 30
t ha-1 produced fresh fruit yield of 3.6 t ha-1, whereas application of
recommended dose of NPK through inorganic fertilizers produced only 2.2 t ha-1.
Singh and Maurya (1992) reported that the maximum yield was recorded when
phosphorus was added @ 60 kg ha-1 in brinjal.
Jaggi et al. (1995) observed that the application of FYM @ 10 t ha-1 with
inorganic fertilizers recorded the maximum tuber yield of potato.
In a field experiment conducted to study the effect of various levels of N, P and
K and plant spacing on yield and economics of brinjal, the crop yield was
increased when N, P and K was applied at 150:60:30 kg ha-1 as compared to zero
levels and 75:30:30 kg NPK ha-1 (Chadha et al., 1997).
Vadivel et al. (1998) reported that two cultivars Annamalai and Pattabiram
registered maximum yield when nitrogen was applied at the rate of 300 kg ha-1 and
at a spacing of 90 x 60 cm. The results of the experiment conducted to study the
effect of plant nutrients at various levels in three cultivars of brinjal revealed
that application of inorganic fertilizers at 120:75:45 kg NPK ha-1 in Pusa Kranthi
followed by Pusa Purple round (291.51 q ha-1) whereas Pusa Purple long gave the
yield of 276.51 q ha-1 with the fertilizer dose of 90:50:30 kg NPK ha-1 (Nandekar
and Sawarkar, 1990).
Singh and Verma (1998) found that application of FYM @ 20 t ha-1 recorded an
increase in potato tuber yield (57 q ha-1) compared to plots treated with
inorganic fertilizers alone (42 q ha-1).
Atiyeh et al. (2000) found that the highest yield attribute of tomato was due to
highest mineral nitrogen concentration of vermicompost.
Application of FYM @ 12.5 t ha-1 along with reduced levels of recommended dose of
fertilizers (50% RDF of 100:50:50 NPK kg ha-1) resulted in the highest yield with
high quality of tomato (Renuka and Ravishankar, 2001).
Lopez et al. (2001) reported that application of composted poultry manure
increased the yield of vegetables.
Battacharya and Ghosh (2001) studied the effect of FYM on yield of brinjal and
reported that FYM application @ 25 t ha-1 increased the yield by 10 per cent.
The growth, yield and bio-chemical constituents of okra were found to be high in
the plot supplemented with vermicompost (Manonmani and Anand, 2002).
Thind et al. (2001) stated that application of FYM @50 t ha-1 resulted in
increased tuber yield of potato by 26.3% over non FYM treated plots.
Patil (2004) revealed that application of 50% RDF + 50% FYM or vermicompost
increased the yield in tomato.
Quality parameters
Gnanakumari and Satyanarayana (1971) reported that application of N at 280 kg ha-1
resulted in the maximum vitamin ‘A’ and ‘C’ content in brinjal. Further increase
of N application increased all the quality attributes viz. TSS, ascorbic acid and
total carbohydrates.
Ogbadu and Easman (1981) mentioned that application of poultry manure increased
the crude fibre content, titratable acidity and total protein content in brinjal.
The results of the experiments conducted to study the quality of tomato fruits
revealed that the ascorbic acid, protein, sugar mineral content were significantly
increased by increasing the rates of N, P and K from 100 kg N ha-1 to 200 kg N ha-
1, P 50 kg ha-1 to 100 kg ha-1 and K 50 kg ha-1 to 100 kg ha-1 (Bagal et al.,
1989).
Jagdev Singh and Singh (2000) reported that the application of FYM 10 t
ha-1 increased seed yield, oil and protein yield of sunflower.
Raj and Kumar (2001) reported that application of poultry manure in okra had given
higher protein content than control which received inorganic fertilizers.
The quality of brinjal cv. Krishna hybrid was improved by application of poultry
manure (Shelke et al., 2001).
The application of recommended dose of nitrogen in the form of poultry manure
recorded high pH, total sugars, titratable acidity, reducing sugars, crude protein
and ascorbic acid content in tomato fruit (Prabhakaran and Jamespichai, 2003).

Uptake of N, P and K
James et al. (1967) reported that nutrient assimilation was significantly affected
by the application of nitrogen in sweet pepper. They also recorded increased
phosphorus uptake with the application of nitrogen fertilizer. They also observed
increased phosphorus uptake with the application of nitrogen fertilizer in both
phosphorus fertilized and unfertilized soils.
Dass and Mishra (1972) observed that increased nitrogen application had increased
the uptake of nitrogen in chillies.
Ramachandran and Subbaiah (1982) found that increase in nitrogen level resulted in
higher uptake of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in chillies.
In an experiment conducted to study the effect of varying levels of organic and
inorganic fertilizers on the yield and nutrient uptake in CO1 brinjal, it was
observed that, highest level of 37.5 t ha-1 of FYM registered more N uptake
(338.71 kg ha-1) and application of 12.5 t ha-1 of FYM registered maximum uptake
of P and K when compared to control (Subbaiah et al., 1983).
Subesingh et al. (1988) reported that combined application of 60 kg N ha-1 and 40
N ha-1 P under rainfed conditions increased the yield and productivity in brinjal
because of better and more uptake of these nutrients.ncrease in nitrogen levels
resulted in the increased uptake of nitrogen and the maximum nutrient uptake was
observed with 160 kg N ha-1 at all the stages of crop growth in chilli cv. CO-3
(Rajangam, 1991).
Kaminwar and Rajagopal (1993) reported that uptake of nitrogen by chillies was
more influenced by nitrogen by chillies and to a lesser extent by phosphorus.
Thirukkaivelu (1996) reported that the uptake of nutrients such as nitrogen,
phosphorus and potassium was more when FYM @ 25 t ha-1 combined with inorganic
fertilizers was applied to brinjal cv. Annamalai.
Thind et al. (2001) reported that the N uptake in sunflower was significantly
influenced by different levels of FYM application.