Effects of bioextracts and its application in enhancing yield characters of pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) cv. Bhagwa under central dry zone of Karnataka

Abstract

Pomegranate is a significant fruit crop cultivated in the dryland regions of India, where achieving optimum yield and quality is often hindered on chemical fertilizers. A field experiment on “Effects of Bioextracts and its application in enhancing yield characters of pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) cv. Bhagwa under Central Dry Zone of Karnataka was carried out in a farmer’s field at Aluru village, Hiriyur taluk, Chitradurga district during the year 2024-25. The experiment was laid out in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with eight treatments and three replications viz., T1 - Seaweed extract @ 2000 ppm, T2 - Moringa leaf extract @ 6000 ppm, T3 - Prosopis juliflora leaf extract @ 5000 ppm, T4 - Seaweed extract @ 2000 ppm + Moringa leaf extract @ 6000 ppm, T5 - Seaweed extract @ 2000 ppm + prosopis juliflora leaf extract @ 5000 ppm, T6 - Moringa leaf extract @ 6000 ppm + prosopis juliflora leaf extract @ 5000 ppm, T7 - Seaweed extract @ 2000 ppm + Moringa leaf extract @ 6000 ppm + Prosopis juliflora leaf extract @ 5000 ppm, T8 - Control, Among the different treatments, T7 (SWE @ 2000 ppm + MLE @ 6000 ppm + PJLE @ 5000 ppm) recorded best characters such as number of fruits per plant (66.21), fruit yield (16.41 kg/plant), maximum fruit weight (265.13 g), fruit length (7.75 cm), fruit diameter (7.81 cm), fruit volume (293.13 cc), rind weight (98.90 g), rind thickness (2.71 mm), arils weight (177 g/fruit), rind - aril ratio (0.55), number of arils per fruit (427.12),100 arils weight (41.82 g) and seed weight (27.09 g). Hence, the combined application of T7 proved highly effective in enhancing the yield of pomegranate under dryland conditions.