Vol. 10, Special Issue 1, Part A (2026)

Integrated nutrient management (INM) offers a pathway to sustain okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L. Moench) productivity while improving soil health under semi-arid Vertisol conditions. A two-season field experiment (kharif 2022 and 2023) was carried at R.B.S. College, Bichpuri, Agra, India (27°2′ N, 77°9′ E) to evaluate organic-inorganic nutrient combinations on growth and yield of okra cv. ‘Kashi Kranti’. The trial employed a randomized block design with 15 treatments and four replications. Treatments were structured around the recommended dose of fertilizer (RDF; N:P:K = 100:60:50 kg ha^-1) with partial substitution by farmyard manure (FYM), vermicompost (VC), and poultry manure (PM). Growth observations (plant height, number of fully expanded leaves, plant spread) were recorded at 30, 60, 90 days after sowing (DAS) and at picking stage; yield attributes (fresh pod weight, pods per plot) and yield per plot were assessed at harvest. Across both years, treatment effects were significant from 60 DAS and onward (p≤0.05). The integrated ternary blend T₁₅ (50% RDF + FYM 3.4 t ha^-1 + VC 1.02 t ha^-1 + PM 0.51 t ha^-1) consistently outperformed the mineral-only control (T₁, 100% RDF), increasing plant height at picking by 16.4%-15.8%, leaf number by ≈22%, plant spread by ≈17%, fresh pod weight by 20.4%-20.7%, and pods per plot by ≈33%, culminating in ~60% higher plot-level yield in both seasons. Treatments T₁₂, T₁₃ and T₁₄ were statistically at par with T₁₅ for several traits, indicating that partial substitution of mineral fertilizers with organics can closely approach maximal performance. The results demonstrate that replacing 50% of RDF with a balanced FYM-VC-PM blend optimizes nutrient supply, enhances canopy development, and stabilizes yield, offering a practical INM recommendation for sustainable okra production on Sanday loam.