Response of chia (Salvia hispanica L.) to spacing and organic nutrient levels under Southern dry zone of Karnataka

A field experiment was conducted at Zonal Agricultural Research Station, V. C. Farm, Mandya to determine the response of chia to spacing and organic nutrient levels during kharif 2020-21 and 2021-22. The experiment was laid out in Factorial Randomized Complete Block Design with three replications. The spacing had non-significant influence with respect to soil available nutrients and soil microbial population. The pooled data indicated that among different organic nutrient levels, application of 100% RDN equivalent compost + application of jeevamrutha at the time of sowing and 30 DAS recorded significantly superior values of soil chemical properties viz., available nitrogen (256.95 kg/ha), available phosphorus (29.53 kg/ha) and available potassium (189.72 kg/ha) and soil microbial population at 30 DAS viz., bacteria (52.20 × 10⁵ cfu/g of soil), fungi (11.39 × 10⁴ cfu/g of soil) and actinomycetes (6.17 × 10³ cfu/g of soil). Among spacing, 45 cm × 15 cm spacing registered statistically higher soil available nutrients (245.51, 28.35 and 184.08 NPK kg/ha, respectively) and soil microbial population at 30 DAS (46.82 × 10⁵, 9.48× 10⁴ and 5.30 × 10³ cfu/g of soil, respectively) compared to the spacing of 60 cm × 15 cm. The correlation and multiple regression analysis was done for quality parameters using R software.