Combined application of foliar fertilizer with basal NPK enhances mulberry leaf yield and silkworm cocoon productivity in calcareous soil

One of the reason of low Mulberry plant ( Morus spp .) production in calcareous soils is due to the low efficiency of soil applied fertilizers. Thus, in search of an alternative efficient fertilizer application method, field experiments were conducted at Bangladesh Sericulture Research and Training Institute (BSTRI), Rajshahi, Bangladesh in consecutive two years for achieving higher productivity of mulberry leaf and silkworm cocoon, Bombyx mori L. Four fertilizer management practices such as Control, Basal, Basal + Urea (B+U) and Basal + Foliar fertilizer (FF) were followed for mulberry plant production. Result showed that 3 times FF spray with basal application of NPK (305 kg N, 105 kg K and 66 kg P ha -1 yr -1 in  4 splits doses enhances biochemical constituents in mulberry leaf, leaf yield, silkworm growth as well as cocoon parameters. This study concluded that this treatment was regarded as the best fertilizer management practice which increased the mulberry leaf and cocoon productivity by 17.0 and 52.8 %, respectively over the control. Leaf quality of mulberry in terms of moisture, crude protein, soluble carbohydrate, reducing sugar and total mineral was increased by 14.0, 57.6, 85.8, 140.4 and 60.5 %, respectively in comparison with the control. Thus, foliar spray of foliar fertilizer had a good impact on sericultural productivity.