Effect of Different Organic Manures along with Microbial Consortia on Growth and Yield of Kalmegh (Andrographis paniculata Nees.)

Kalmegh has wide range of medicinal and pharmacological applications. The active ingredient andrographolide is important bioprotectant. Organically grown medicinal plants fetch premium price in the market. Hence the need to explore different manures along with microbial consortia to improve its yield is essential. The experiment was laid out in RCBD with thirteen treatments. Different organic manures and combinations with neem cake were taken as treatments with three replications. Significantly higher plant height was observed in treatment - 100% RDF through vermicompost. Maximum plant spread was recorded in the treatment - 50% RDF through FYM + 50% RDF through neem cake + microbial consortia. Application of sheep manure + neem cake resulted in higher number of branches plant-1, higher number of leaves plant-1, highest fresh weight, highest dry weight, highest root to shoot ratio, highest fresh herbage yield and highest B:C ratio. So, sheep manure + neem cake was found best compared to other manures and combinations.