Effects of water hyacinth mulching and organic nutrient combinations on the growth and yield of ridge gourd ( Luffa acutangula L.) in the Terai region of West Bengal, India

To investigate existing issues of lack of availability of organic mulching material and diminishing crop and soil productivity, a field experiment with ridge gourd (Luffa acutangula L.) was conducted at UBKV, West Bengal, India, in 2017 and 2018. The experiment used a randomised block design with two treatment factors (water hyacinth mulch × organic nutrient combination), replicated three times. ANOVA revealed that most parameters showed significant interaction effects (p < 0.05) between the factors. The highest vine length (6.48 m), leaf area (420.85 cm2), LAI (2.70), leaf chlorophyll (59.25 SPAD), TSS (5.53 °B), vitamin-C (6.16 mg 100 g−1), fruit chlorophyll (2.83 mg g−1), and fruit texture (1152.56 g mm−1) were recorded for the treatment with water hyacinth mulching combined with enriched FYM (7.5 kg plant−1) with Azophos and foliar spray of Biozyme crop+ (at 2 ml l−1). Whereas, the highest number of fruits per plant−1 (25.60), fruit weight (162.91 g), fruit yield (22.18 t ha−1), and B:C ratio of 2.64 were recorded with water hyacinth mulching (1 kg plant−1) combined with enriched vermicompost (2 kg plant−1) with Azophos and foliar spray of Biozyme crop+ (at 2 ml l−1). Water hyacinth mulching (1 kg plant−1) combined with enriched vermicompost (2 kg plant−1) with Azophos recorded the highest available soil potassium (124.92 kg ha−1). It was concluded that the combined application of water hyacinth mulch, enriched organic manure and foliar application of seaweed extract Biozyme crop+ can be adopted for improved growth, yield, quality and profitability of ridge gourd cultivation.