Effect of foliar spray of zinc sulphate on growth and yield of tomato (Solanum lycopersicon L.) under polyhouse

Abstract

The field experiment was conducted at Horticulture farm, College of Agriculture, Bikaner (Rajasthan) from December, 2016 to June, 2017. The treatment consisted of five levels of zinc sulphate (0, 50, 100, 150, 200 ppm) and number of sprays (first, second and third) making there by 15 treatment combination which were replicated three times in the Factorial Complete Randomized Design having bed size of 10 m x 1 m with a row to row distance of 45 cm and plant to plant 60 cm. The first, second and third spray of zinc sulphate was done 20, 40 and 60 days after transplanting respectively. The increasing levels of zinc sulphate and number of sprays significantly increased the growth and yield by increasing number of plant height, number of branches, number of flowers, chlorophyll content, length of fruits, weight of fruits, number of fruits per plant, fruits yield per plant, fruits yield q ha-. The three spray of zinc sulphate gave the maximum net return of Rs. 800412.816 with the cost benefit ratio of 1: 2.66.