Influence of organic manures, inorganic fertilizers and harvesting schedules on growth and yield of Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni under mid-hill conditions of Himachal Pradesh

Field crop nutrition is poorly managed, which affects both quality and production standards. The experiment was carried out in the experimental field as well as in laboratory of the Department of Forest Products, College of Forestry, Dr Y S Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Solan (HP) during 2019-2020. Among different treatments, vermicompost (N content equivalent to RDF) + NPK (60:45:30 kg/ha) resulted significant effect on growth and yield in two harvests. Highest total fresh leaf yield (91.67 q/ha), total dry leaf yield (31.77 q/ha), total fresh foliage yield (169.49 q/ha) and total dry foliage yield (63.55 q/ha) with B:C ratio (1.09) were observed in treatment combinations vermicompost (N content equivalent to RDF(Recommended Dose of Fertilizers)) + NPK (60:45:30 kg/ha) but the highest B:C ratio (1.11) was observed in integrated nutrient management of FYM (N content equivalent to RDF) + NPK (60:45:30 kg/ha) with economic dry leaf yield (29.65 q/ha).