Morphophysiology, growth indices, and fruiting of pumpkin in response to organic amendments

A field study was carried out to examine the effects of organic amendment on the morpho-physiology, growth indices, and fruiting of pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata) plants. The pumpkin seedlings were raised in polybags and treated without fertilizer (control), cow dung, goat dung, poultry dung, vermicompost, compost, and inorganic fertilizer (NPK). The results showed that poultry dung and cow dung treatments significantly increased the length of vine, leaf number, leaf area, and leaf dry weight of pumpkin plants. Poultry dung treatment increased the absolute growth rate (AGR), relative growth rate (RGR), leaf area index (LAI), leaf area ratio (LAR), leaf area duration (LAD), and fresh plant biomass by 345%, 287%, 770%, 384%, 415%, and 1139%, respectively over the control plants. Poultry dung treatment also increased the internode length and initiated flowers earlier than the control. Petiole length, stomatal conductance, and chlorophyll content were 5.59, 1.49, and 1.41 times higher with NPK treatment compared to the control group. In addition, poultry dung treatment increased the female flower number, male-female flower ratio, number of fruits, fruit weight, fruit diameter, fruit circumference, fruit length, and flesh thickness by 350%, 30%, 300%, 100%, 80%, 80%, 67%, and 105%, respectively, over the control plants. From this study, it can be concluded that poultry dung treatment enhanced the vegetative and reproductive growth, plant physiology, fruiting, and quality of pumpkin.