Growth and yield performance of sweet sorghum under reduced inorganic fertilizer rates supplemented with Trichoderma-enriched vermicompost
Paper Details
Growth and yield performance of sweet sorghum under reduced inorganic fertilizer rates supplemented with Trichoderma-enriched vermicompost
Abstract
A field experiment was undertaken at Cagayan State University from December 2023 to April 2024 to investigate how reducing the rates of inorganic fertilizer combined with vermicompost affects the growth of sweet red sorghum. Through a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replicates, it was discovered that sorghum plants receiving 75% of the inorganic fertilizer combined with 2.5 tons/ha vermicompost (T3) were the tallest (133.02 cm), almost the same height as those with 100% inorganic fertilizer (T1), 50% inorganic fertilizer + 2.5 tons/ha vermicompost (T4), and pure vermicompost (T2). Panicle length and number of grains per panicle were the longest in T1, whereas T3 yielded significantly more per hectare (8.11 tons/ha) than T2 (3.38 tons/ha). The treatments showed no significant differences in days to flowering and the weight of 1000 grains. This result illustrates that the use of vermicompost to supplement reduced rates of inorganic fertilizer can produce agronomic outputs and yields similar to the use of full inorganic fertilizer. The 75% RRIF + 2.5 tons/ha vermicompost (T3) appeared to be a promising sustainable alternative. The long-term consequences and economic viability of this method can be left for further studies.
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Gerald L. Seridon*, Maurine Bayubay-Abao, Jake P. Abedes, Mauricio P. Bayubay, 2026. Growth and yield performance of sweet sorghum under reduced inorganic fertilizer rates supplemented with Trichoderma-enriched vermicompost. Int. J. Biosci., 29(1), 38-46.
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