Agronomic productivity and quality assessment of rocket salad (Eruca sativa Mill.) with the interaction of cultivars and fertility protocols in successive cropping years in Potohar region of Punjab, Pakistan

Rocket salad (Eruca sativa Mill.) which is commonly grown for medicinal purposes is a viable livelihood option for low-income farmers in rain-fed areas of Potohar region. The proposed study aimed to synchronize the interaction of crop cultivars and integrated strategy of nutrient management in various combinations on agronomic and quality traits of Eruca sativa Mill. plants conducted in the years 2021-22 and 2022-23 at Agronomic Research Farm of Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi, Pakistan. The trial was performed with a randomized complete block design (RCBD) containing 2 cultivars and 7 different combinations of fertilizer protocols with three replications. The cultivars were; NARC (ACC NO. 26187 PGRI) and traditional market available seed of rocket salad. The treatments included; T0: Control, T1: N-P-K (30-30-30 kg ha-1), T2: FYM (10 t ha-1), T3: ½ Chemical @ 15-15-15 kg ha-1 of N-P-K + FYM (10 tons ha-1), T4: ½ Chemical @ 15-15-15 kg ha-1 of N-P-K + ½ FYM @ 5 tons ha-1, T5: P-K @ 30 kg ha-1 each, and T6: P-K @ 30 kg ha-1 each + N Foliar application as 2% Urea source. The results demonstrated a highly significant difference among cultivars (P ≤ 0.05) and genotype NARC gave maximum outcomes for agronomic and quality traits of Eruca sativa Mill. and similar consequences obtained for all the parameters in cropping years except thousand seed weight. The fertilizer treatments with PK & foliar N application gave highly significant results for studied traits compared to other treatments. The interaction effect of V×Y×T exhibited non-significant results for the studied attributes. The results suggested that use of NARC accredited genotype had great potential to perform under Potohar rain-fed conditions and mixture of PK + N foliar & NPK + FYM were economically feasible for commercial cultivation under limited availability of resources.