Effect of plant growth regulators on growth and yield of tomato crop (solanum lycopersicum L.) cv. best of all

Abstract

The present investigation entitled “Effect of Plant Growth Regulators on Growth and Yield of Tomato Crop (Solanum lycopersicum L.) cv. Best of All” was carried out during March, 2018 at the Vegetable Demonstration and Research Block, Department of Vegetable Science, College of Horticulture, VCSG Uttarakhand University of Horticulture and Forestry, Bharsar. The experiment was laid out in Randomized Complete Block Design with three replications consisted of ten treatments had different concentrations of Gibberellic acid, Naphthalene Acetic Acid and Ethrel. All plant growth regulators were sprayed at 50, 100 and 150 ppm concentrations, one month after transplanting and then repeated twice at 10 days interval. The plant growth regulators were applied on 4 true leaf stage. The data obtained for different characters were statistically analysed to find out the significance of the plant growth regulators. The application of plant growth regulators had shown significant results on all characters viz., vegetative as well as yield attributes of the crop. The results revealed that the exogenous application of (T4) Gibberellic Acid @ 150 ppm recorded maximum height of the plant (133.200 cm), number of branches per plant (9.333), number of flower per plant (9.773), fruit set per cent (74.307), number of fruits per plant (50.667), Average fruit weight per plant (35.733 g), yield per plant (1.583 kg), yield per plot (19.007 kg), total soluble solids (5.733 °Brix), shelf life (9.667) and vitamin C (19.067mg/100g). Whereas, minimum days to first flowering (36.133), days to first fruit set (47.333) and days to maturity (70.333) were also found in (T4) Gibberellic Acid @ 150 ppm. On the other hand, application of (T7) Naphthalene Acetic Acid @ 150 ppm found maximum Cost Benefit ratio (1:3.28) followed by (T10) Ethrel @ 150 ppm (1:3.14) and (T4) Gibberellic Acid @ 150 ppm (1:3.07). Therefore, on the basis of results obtained in present studies, it is suggested that the spray of Naphthalene Acetic Acid @ 150 ppm is found more favourable for the farmers because it has low cost of cultivation as compare to the other plant growth regulators.