Response of foliar spray of micronutrients on yield and economics of bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.) under Telangana conditions

Abstract

Foliar application of micronutrients in vegetable crops is gaining popularity with increasing crop yields and quality of the produce. The present experiment “Response of foliar spray of micronutrients on yield and economics of bitter gourd under Telangana conditions” was carried out for three years during Summer 2019, 2020 & 2021 to explore the balanced use of micronutrients in view of climate change. The trial was conducted in Randomized Block Design (RBD), with fourteen treatments viz. T0:Control (Water sprays), T1:Boric acid 100 ppm (0.571 g/l), T2:Zinc Sulphate 100 ppm (0.246 g/l), T3: Ammonium Molybdate 50 ppm (0.644 g/l), T4:Copper Sulphate 100 ppm (0.52 g/l), T5:Ferrous Sulphate 100 ppm (0.515 g/l), T6:Manganese Sulphate 100 ppm (0.32 g/l), T7:Mixture of all (T1 to T6), T8:Mixture of all without Boron, T9:Mixture of all without Zinc, T10:Mixture of all without Molybdenum, T11:Mixture of all without Copper, T12:Mixture of all without Iron, T13:Mixture of all without Manganese, T14:Commercial formulation (Formula-4) @ 4g/l replicated twice at Vegetable Research Station, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad, Telangana, India. Significant differences were observed among the treatments with respect to average fruit weight, Number of fruits per plant, fruit yield per plant and marketable yield per hectare. The pooled data revealed that, among 14 treatments evaluated maximum marketable yield per plant (1.66 kg) and marketable yield per hectare (154.81q) was recorded in treatment T7:Mixture of all (Boric acid 100 ppm + Zinc Sulphate 100 + Ammonium Molybdate 50 ppm + Copper Sulphate 100 ppm + Ferrous Sulphate 100 ppm + Manganese Sulphate 100 ppm), which was statistically at par with T14:Commercial formulation -Formula-4 @ 4 ml/litre of water. However, the highest net returns (Rs. 3,64,198 /ha) and benefit cost ratio (3.63) was realized with the treatment T7 -Mixture of all micro-nutrients.