Continuous and indiscriminate use of inorganic fertilizer is degrading agricultural lands, which in turn will reduce the yield and quality of fruit produced. Today, growing awareness of health makes consumers more concerned about food quality and safety. An experiment was conducted in 2022 with six different treatment combinations of organic inputs at the Horticultural College and Research Institute, TNAU, Coimbatore, to understand its influence on the fruit yield and quality of banana cv. Neypoovan. The common organic inputs given to all treatments are FYM at 8 kg/plant, Neem cake at 1 kg/plant, Vermicompost at 5 kg/plant (applied at 3rd and 4th month after planting), green manuring with sunnhemp and cowpea as intercrop and AM (25 g), Azophos at 50 g, Phosphate solubilizing bacteria at 50 g, and T. viridie at 50 g per plant. The treatment combination of coconut cake at 1 kg/plant and potash solubilizing bacteria at 50 kg/plant, along with the common organic inputs, can be considered the best treatment as it registered significantly higher bunch weight (12.48 kg/plant), more hands per bunch (11.8), more fruits per bunch (186.63), and the highest BCR of 3.2. The fruit quality was also better compared to other treatments, with significantly lower titratable fruit acidity (0.235%) and a high TSS (31°B).

Banana, vermi compost, Sunnhemp, organics, fruit yield, quality.

According to the current study's findings, an organic manure schedule that includes 50 g of phosphate solubilizing bacteria, 50 g of coconut cake, 1 kg of neem cake, 1 kg of FYM, 5 kg of vermicompost (applied at the third and fourth months after planting), triple green manuring with sunnhemp and cowpea as intercrop and AM (25 g), 50 g of azophos, 50 g of phosphate solubilizing bacteria, and 50 g of T. viridie per plant are recommended for improving the fruit yield and quality in banana cultivar Neypoovan

K.B. Sujatha, P. Paramaguru, E. Somasundaram, A. Renuka Devi, R. Nageswari and B. Senthamizh Selvi (2024). Organic Amendments on Fruit Yield and Quality of Banana cv. Neypoovan. Biological Forum – An International Journal, 16(6): 101-104.