Effect of foliar application of silicon on growth and development of okra fruit

Abstract

Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L.) (2n=130) is known in many English-speaking countries as lady's fingers or gumbo and it is a flowering plant in the Malvaceae family. Silicon is known as a multifunctional element that significantly increases plant growth, productivity, plant tolerance and enhances resistance against insect and pests. The aim of this investigation was to improve growth characters in okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L.) by foliar application of silicic acid. A field experiment was conducted at main vegetable research station farm, Anand, to investigate whether foliar application of silicic acid could ameliorate the okra growth. Four okra cultivars GAO 5, Pusa sawani, AOL 1022 and Arka anamika were exposed to four treatments of silicic acid with different time intervals. The fruit length, weight, girth, volume, no of fruits per plant, plant height and 100 seed weight were recorded higher in GAO 5 and foliar spray of silicic acid at 15 DAG i.e. treatment (T2). Disease incidence was found to be reduced at early stage foliar spray of silicic acid treatment (T2) compared to all other treatments. Among the different crop growth stages, at early vegetative stage i.e. 15 DAG had greater beneficial effect on okra fruit, followed by fruit received from late vegetative (T3=30 DAG) and flowering stage (T4=45 DAG0. Applications of silicic acid enhanced the overall growth of okra varieties.