Faculty of Technology

The Comparison Between The Conventional Fertilizer Practice And Eco-Friendly Fertilizer Practices On Plant Growth And Yield Of OKRA

2026-05-27T09:41:46Z

The Comparison Between The Conventional Fertilizer Practice And Eco-Friendly Fertilizer Practices On Plant Growth And Yield Of OKRA Fernando, A.D.N. Okra (Abelmoschus esculenthus) is a valuable vegetable crop, but selecting the best fertrhzer practices remains a challenge. Although chemical fertilizers (CF) boost yields, they may harrn the environment. Conventional Organic feftilizers and Bio-fertilizers offer sustainable alternatives, but their effectiveness is lower than the Chemical fertilizer. The main objective of this experiment was to compare the effect of conventional fertilizer practices and eco-friendly fefiihzer practices on plant growth and yield of Okra. A plot experiment was car:ried out using three types of ferlilizers and combinations namely, Chemical fertilizer, Modern Organic pellet fertllizer and Biofilm bio-fertilizers. The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design with four replicates having the following treatments: Tt Chemical fertrhzer alone (HORDI Recommendation), Tz - Organic pellets alone (LBF Recommendation), T: - Chemical feftlhzer 50oA + Biofilm Biofertilizer, Tq * Organic pellet fertllizer 50yo + Biohlm Biofertilizer, Ts - Chemical fertilizer 50yo + Organic pellet fertrlizer 50o/o,Te- Chemical Ferlilizer 33Yo + Organic pellet ferlilizer 33% + Biofilm Biofertilizet, Tt - Control (no fertilizer). The results showed that different fertilizer practices and combinations had significant effects on growth and yield parameters of Okra over the control. Based on the results, T1 (Chemical ferlilizer), Ts (Chemical fertrhzer 50o/o + Organic pellet fertllizer 50%) and To (Chemical Fertilizer 33"/o + Organic pellet fertilizer 33o/o + Biofilm Bio-fertilizer) treatments showed comparable results for the growth and yield of Okra. Further studies under field conditions should be conducted to confirm these results. With the current findings, eco-friendly fertilizer practices can be recommended for the reduction of chemical fertilizers dependency while maintaining growth and yield of Okra.

DEVELOPMENT OF NONI FRUIT (Morinda citrifolia) READY-TO-SERVE DRINK AND ITS NUTRITIONAL PARAMETERS

2026-05-27T09:41:46Z

DEVELOPMENT OF NONI FRUIT (Morinda citrifolia) READY-TO-SERVE DRINK AND ITS NUTRITIONAL PARAMETERS HETTIARACHCHI, N.S. Noni (Morinda citrifolia linn) fruits are edible but they don't have nice taste and flavor but it has not come to general popular consumption like coffee and other fruit in same family due to the myth in the community as it a toxic fruit. Therefore, this is one of the very underutilized fruits in Sri Lanka. Therefore, the proposed study aimed to investigate the utilization of Noni fruits to develop Ready -To-Serve (RTS) drinks and evaluate its sensory, analysis of its Nutritional parameters. Four formulations of Noni Drink were prepared by changing the percentages of juice level (10%,13%,14%, and 15%) the control sample was formulated without incorporating Additives (sugar, citric acid, pectin and potassium sorbate). All the formulations were subjected to physicochemical analysis (pH value, moisture, ash, Titratable acidity, Brix%, and ascorbic acid), microbial analysis (Standard plate count (SPC) and Coliform), and sensory evaluation. The shelf-life of the product was studied during 30 days of the storage period by evaluating the changes in moisture content, pH value, Ascorbic acid and microbial qualities. Moreover, all the formulations exhibited acceptable limits on microbial quality parameters throughout the storage period. According to the sensory evaluation, the sample which was formulated by incorporating 15% noni juice, 12% sugar, 66% water, 4% ginger flavor and 2% mint flavor was found to be the best treatment (p < 0.05) with the highest overall acceptability of 7.5 +- 0.11a. According to the physicochemical analysis, the Noni drink sample contained 66.77c+-0.05% moisture, 0.268+-0.42% Ash, 17.00+-0.00a % Brix, 3.30 +0.00a pH, 12.64+-0.06 mg/l00ml ascorbic acid and 0.0032+-0. 0.00d Titratable acidity.

Selection of highest yielding chilli variety (Capsicum annuum) with good germination and growth parameters among the varieties cultivated in Sri Lanka (Chili varieties of M.I. 01, M.I. 02, MICH HY 01)

2026-05-27T09:41:46Z

Selection of highest yielding chilli variety (Capsicum annuum) with good germination and growth parameters among the varieties cultivated in Sri Lanka (Chili varieties of M.I. 01, M.I. 02, MICH HY 01) BALASOORIYA, R.M.C.R.I. Chilli crop grown in the country is not enough to meet the annual consumption requirement of the country. Therefore the aim of this study was to select highest yielding chilli variety with good germination and growth parameters among the varieties cultivated in Sri Lanka. The experiment was conducted at home garden, Anamaduwa Puttalam District. For this experiment, chilli (capsicum annuum) variety was used. Research was carried out using Complete Randomized Design (CRD) with four treatments and forty replicates for each treatment. Treatments were T0 -Normal chili verity, T1 - M.I. 01 chili verity, T2 - M.I. 02 chili verity and T3 - MICH HY 01 chili variety. The seeds of chilli (capsicum annuum), black Polybags and compost were obtained from agriculture farm, Anamduwa. The size of a polybag was 45cm height and 30cm diameter. Polybags were filled with potting mixture (sand: compost: top soil 1:1:1) leaving a space of 10 cm at the top of the polybag. Holes were made on bottom of the bags to drain water. All the pots were kept at the distance between 02 rows is 45 cm and the space between pots is 60 cm. MICH HY 01 chili variety recorded significantly highest (p<0.05) height, number of leaves, number of branches per plant, number of flowers per plant and yield. From this study, it was found that the MICH HY 01 chili variety recorded better germination, growth and yield showed the best performance.

A STUDY ON VALUE CHAIN ANALYSIS OF RAMBUTAN: STATUS AND PROSPECTS IN GAMPAHA DISTRICT

2026-05-27T09:41:46Z

A STUDY ON VALUE CHAIN ANALYSIS OF RAMBUTAN: STATUS AND PROSPECTS IN GAMPAHA DISTRICT FATHIMA MAHBOOBA, I.S. Rambutan is a well-known tropical fruit that is widely grown in Sri Lanka. Gampaha district is one of the most popular districts for Rambutan production in Sri Lanka. The study was conducted to investigate the current status of Rambutan production, processing, and value chain analysis in the Gampaha district after the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic crisis in the country. For this study, the Biyagama, Dompe, Gampaha, and Attanagalla DS divisions were selected. Specific objectives include understanding socio-economic characteristics of people engaged in Rambutan cultivation, evaluating each activity of the farmer's value chain, identifuing the product made from Rambutan fruits, finding out the processing industries of Rambutan, and finding out the constraints or problems faced by the people engaged in Rambutan cultivation. It examined the socio-economic characteristics. factors contributing to Rambutan production, sources of Rambutan planting materials, sources of information on Rambutan cultivation among farmers in the study area, fertilizer application, legal status, marketing strategies, demand, harvesting, labour force, and the availability of extension services for Rambutan cultivation also processing industries for Rambutan. The simple random sampling method was used for the primary data collection among the Rambutan fanners. The study area was chosen based on the existing high number of Rambutan farmers. In addition, secondary data were used from various sources. Data were analysed using SPSS software with descriptive statistics, frequencies, and a chi- squared test. Findings revealed that association between awareness of Rambutan processing and selected variables.98% of farmers were aware of Rambutan processing. The rest of them, however, were not. 78% of farmers had processing infrastructure in place. There was a significant association between years of experience in plantation, farmers' preference to sell. customers preference, infrastructure to Rambutan process, experience in Rambutan processing, source of employees, and market availability for processes. It implies that these factors contributed to increase the awareness of processed Rambutan in the study areas. The results further suggest a non-significant association between age, gender, family size, main cultivating plant, legal status for process, and willing to extend the process.