2025, Vol. 5, Issue 2, Part D

The present study, titled “Sustainable Production of Linseed (Linum usitatissimum L.) through Integrated Nutrient Management Practices in the Indo-Gangetic Plains of India”, was conducted during the Rabi season of 2024-25 at the Crop Research Centre, Maharishi University of Information Technology, Lucknow, to evaluate the effects of Integrated Nutrient Management (INM) on growth, yield, yield attributes, and economics of linseed. The experiment was laid out in a Randomized Block Design (RBD) with three replications and comprised seven treatments: T₁ - RDF (40:20:20 N: P₂O₅:K₂O kg ha⁻¹), T₂ - RDF + poultry manure (2.5 t ha⁻¹), T₃ - RDF + vermicompost (3 t ha⁻¹), T₄ - RDF + FYM (5 t ha⁻¹), T₅ - RDF + FYM (5 t ha⁻¹) + vermicompost (2.5 t ha⁻¹), T₆ - RDF + FYM (5 t ha⁻¹) + vermicompost (2.5 t ha⁻¹) + ZnSO₄ (20 kg ha⁻¹), and T₇ - control (no fertilizer). Results revealed that INM significantly improved emergence, plant height, branching, canopy spread, total dry matter accumulation, and key yield attributes. Among the treatments, T₆ exhibited the highest seed yield (1760 kg ha⁻¹), straw yield (2700 kg ha⁻¹), biological yield (4460 kg ha⁻¹), harvest index (39.45%), and net returns (₹41,420 ha⁻¹) with a favorable B:C ratio of 1.83. These findings indicate that the balanced integration of organic and inorganic nutrients along with zinc supplementation enhances nutrient use efficiency, biomass production, and profitability, offering a sustainable strategy for high-yielding linseed cultivation in the Indo-Gangetic Plains.