Enhancement of Yield, Essential Oils, and Active Ingredients of Turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) by Application of Organic Manures (Farmyard and Poultry Manure)

Turmeric is one of the minor horticultural root crops used in spices and also for medicinal purposes that has received more attention for optimizing various practices for its production. The significance of organic manure in agriculture is critical for boosting the quality of turmeric as well as soil health. Therefore, the present study was conducted to introduce and check the response of turmeric in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, especially in Peshawar, Pakistan. Various rhizome sizes of turmeric (small (30 ± 1 g), medium (40 ± 1 g), and large (50 ± 1 g)) were grown in recommended doses of different organic manures (farmyard manure (FYM, 18 tons ha⁻¹), poultry manure (PM, 7 tons ha⁻¹) alone, and in the combination of both FYM + PM along with control) for yield and quality performance. Application of poultry manure showed the best results for the number of leaves, sprouting percentage, and finger length. Whereas, the maximum number of fingers, tillers, rhizome weight plant⁻¹, total fresh rhizome yield, dry rhizome yield, curcumin content, oleoresin content, essential oil content, and least days to sprouting were recorded in the combination of FYM and PM. Similarly, for rhizome sizes, more leaves, fingers, tillers, finger length, rhizome weight plant⁻¹, total fresh rhizome yield, dry rhizome yield, more curcumin content, oleoresin content, essential oil content, and the lowest days to sprouting were recorded in larger sized rhizomes. It was thus concluded from the results that a combination of FYM + PM and large-sized rhizomes (50 ± 1) proved to be best for the growth and quality production of turmeric in Peshawar.