quality parameters of carrot as affected by varieties and nutrient sources

A field experiment was carried out from November 2014 to April 2015 in farmer’s field, Fulbari, Chitwan, Nepal to access the influence of different varieties and nutrient sources on quality parameters of carrot. The experiment was laid out in two factorial randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications, consisting of three varieties i.e. Nepadream, New Kuroda and Early Nantes as factor A and five nutrient sources i.e. 1) RDF at the rate of 60:40:40 NPK kg ha-1 2) FYM at the rate of 3t ha-1 3) 50% RDF plus 50% FYM 4) 50% RDF plus 50% vermicompost 5) Vermicompost at the rate of 1.2t ha-1 as factor B. The quality parameters as core diameter, cortex diameter, core to cortex ratio and TSS were measured at harvest. The study revealed that core and cortex diameter were not influenced significantly by varieties while TSS content and core to cortex ratio were influenced significantly. Nepadream variety recorded higher TSS and lower core to cortex ratio than Open Pollinated (OP) varieties (New Kuroda and Early Nantes) due to which it was more acceptable in terms of quality. Similarly, core diameter was influenced non-significantly with nutrient sources while other parameters were influenced significantly. The combined effect of varieties with nutrient sources was non-significant with respect to all the quality parameters. Thus in general, the hybrid variety was found superior to local varieties. Likewise, the integration of organic and inorganic nutrient sources resulted in better quality carrot roots than the sole treatments.