EVALUATING REDUCED FERTILIZER DOSES WITH VERMICOMPOST AND CLYBIO FOR STEM AMARANTH (AMARANTHUS TRICOLOR L.) PRODUCTION

An experiment was conducted at the Horticulture Farm, Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Dhaka, Bangladesh, from May to August 2026, to evaluate the effects of reduced chemical fertilizer doses combined with vermicompost and Clybio on the growth and yield of stem amaranth (Amaranthus tricolor L.). The experiment was laid out in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications and four treatments: T₁: 100% recommended dose of fertilizer (RDF; control), T₂: 75% RDF + vermicompost, T₃: 75% RDF + Clybio and T₄: 75% RDF + vermicompost + Clybio. Plant height, leaf number, SPAD value, single plant weight, root weight, plot yield and estimated yield per hectare were recorded. Treatment effects were significant for all parameters except SPAD value. At 70 days after sowing (DAS), the highest plant height (39.3 cm), leaf number (40.0 plant⁻¹), single plant weight (136.3 g), root weight (28.3 g), plot yield (32.7 kg) and estimated yield (109.1 t ha⁻¹), were recorded in T₄, whereas the lowest values (31.6 cm, 33.6 plant⁻¹, 67.7 g, 12.0 g, 16.2 kg and 54.1 t ha⁻¹, respectively) were observed in T₁. These results indicate that combining 75% RDF with vermicompost and Clybio can improve the growth and productivity of stem amaranth while allowing a 25% reduction in chemical fertilizer use. This integrated nutrient management approach may therefore be a promising strategy for sustainable stem amaranth production in Bangladesh and further multi-season and multi-location trials are needed to validate these results.