Effect of variety and bio-fertilizer on growth and yield of pineapple (Ananas comosus (L.) Merr.)

Abstract

A field experiment entitled “Effect of variety and bio-fertilizer on growth and yield of pineapple [Ananas comosus (L. Merr.)]” was conducted at Horticulture Research Farm (HRF), Andro, Imphal- East during 2011-2013 to study the effect of different varieties (V1 = Kew, Queen and Mauritius) and different concentrations of bio-fertilizers i.e., B1 = Biomix-1 @ 290.37 g + Biomix-5 @ 313.37 ml/40 plants, B2 = Biomix-1 @ 290.375 g/40 plants and B3 = Biomix-5 @ 313.373 ml/40 plants. It was revealed that there was a gradual increase in the number of leaf from 4 MAP to 16 MAP after that there was decline of leaf number at 20 MAP. Kew performed better in respect of plant growth and fruit yield. An increasing trend in leaf area, LAI and Leaf Size Index were observed in the subsequent growth of pineapple plant. Bio-fertilizer mixture of Biomix-1 + Biomix-5 exhibited maximum leaf area, leaf size index and leaf area index in pineapple. Subsequently, the highest fruit yield was recorded with the application of Biomix-1 + Biomix-5 in Kew variety i.e. V1B1 (31.02 tonnes/ha) and the lowest was with the application of Biomix-5 in Mauritius variety i.e. V3B3 (14.44 tonnes/ha).