Effects of Biochar and Vermicompost Amended Soil on Yellow Squash Yield under Deficit Irrigation in Bangladesh

Effects of Biochar and Vermicompost Amended Soil on Yellow Squash Yield under Deficit Irrigation in Bangladesh | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Effects of Biochar and Vermicompost Amended Soil on Yellow Squash Yield under Deficit Irrigation in Bangladesh Md Ashraful, A. K. Mohibul Islam, Mohammad Abdul Kader, Noor Muhammad, and 2 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7965664/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Soil fertility management and efficient irrigation system could contribute in sustainable vegetable production in Bangladesh. This study evaluated the effects of soil amendments and irrigation levels on the growth, yield, and water use efficiency (WUE) of yellow squash (Cucurbita pepo L.). A field experiment was conducted at the Sylhet Agricultural University (SAU) campus, Sylhet, using a randomized complete block design consists of six treatments with three replications. Treatments included loamy soil (control), loamy soil with vermicompost, and loamy soil with biochar, each under 60% (deficit) and 80% (deficit) field capacity irrigation. Field level data were collected from sample plants of each plots. Collected data were analyzed by SPSS version 23.0 software. Results demonstrated that integrating organic amendments with loamy soil under adequate irrigation improves yellow squash productivity, soil fertility, and water efficiency. Among treatments, LCFI80 (vermicompost + loamy soil at 80% field capacity) was identified as the most effective strategy for maximizing fruit yield and plant growth, while LBFI80 (biochar + loamy soil at 80% field capacity) offered the greatest advantage in improving WUE. However, soil amendments and deficit irrigation levels significantly impacted on squash growth and yield. Fruit weight ranged from a minimum of 614 g in LSDI60 (60% field capacity with control soil) to a maximum of 980 g in LCFI80 (80% field capacity with vermicompost-amended soil). Fruit diameter showed a similar trend, with values ranging from 13 cm (LSDI60) to 27 cm (LCFI80). Water use efficiency (WUE) was strongly influenced by soil type: biochar-amended soil showed superior efficiency, ranging from 42 g L⁻¹ in LSFI80 to 53 g L⁻¹ in LBFI80, reflecting its enhanced water-retention capacity. These results of the study provide a practical guidance for soil fertility management through using biochar in vegetable production systems in Bangladesh. Soil Fertility Deficit Irrigation Water Use Efficiency Soil Regimes Yellow Squash Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7965664","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":549841908,"identity":"4babdfbf-149c-4a86-9707-ff19b9d2f078","order_by":0,"name":"Md Ashraful","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Sylhet Agricultural University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Md","middleName":"","lastName":"Ashraful","suffix":""},{"id":549841909,"identity":"2f7dc7d0-a96f-4cf7-a202-c0ab070aef51","order_by":1,"name":"A. K. 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Bangladesh","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Soil Fertility, Deficit Irrigation, Water Use Efficiency, Soil Regimes, Yellow 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This study evaluated the effects of soil amendments and irrigation levels on the growth, yield, and water use efficiency (WUE) of yellow squash (Cucurbita pepo L.). A field experiment was conducted at the Sylhet Agricultural University (SAU) campus, Sylhet, using a randomized complete block design consists of six treatments with three replications. Treatments included loamy soil (control), loamy soil with vermicompost, and loamy soil with biochar, each under 60% (deficit) and 80% (deficit) field capacity irrigation. Field level data were collected from sample plants of each plots. Collected data were analyzed by SPSS version 23.0 software. Results demonstrated that integrating organic amendments with loamy soil under adequate irrigation improves yellow squash productivity, soil fertility, and water efficiency. Among treatments, LCFI80 (vermicompost + loamy soil at 80% field capacity) was identified as the most effective strategy for maximizing fruit yield and plant growth, while LBFI80 (biochar + loamy soil at 80% field capacity) offered the greatest advantage in improving WUE. However, soil amendments and deficit irrigation levels significantly impacted on squash growth and yield. Fruit weight ranged from a minimum of 614 g in LSDI60 (60% field capacity with control soil) to a maximum of 980 g in LCFI80 (80% field capacity with vermicompost-amended soil). Fruit diameter showed a similar trend, with values ranging from 13 cm (LSDI60) to 27 cm (LCFI80). Water use efficiency (WUE) was strongly influenced by soil type: biochar-amended soil showed superior efficiency, ranging from 42 g L⁻¹ in LSFI80 to 53 g L⁻¹ in LBFI80, reflecting its enhanced water-retention capacity. 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