Effect of NAA levels on growth, yield and quality of different brinjal (Solanum melongena L.) varieties

Abstract

A field experiment was carried out at Agricultural Research Farm, School of Agricultural Sciences, Jaipur National University, Jaipur, Rajasthan during kharif, 2025on sandy loamy soil. The study employed a Factorial Randomized Block Design, replicated thrice, with twelve treatments four NAA levels (control, 30, 50, and 70 ppm) and three brinjal varieties (Pusa Purple Round, Pusa Kranti, Hybrid Mahy-Kalpataru). Results demonstrated that foliar application of NAA at 50 ppm significantly enhanced growth and yield attributes, including maximum plant height (69.41 cm), number of branches (16.04), fruit number per plant (16.63), fruit length (17.74 cm), fruit diameter (7.37 cm), average fruit weight (101.26 g), fruit yield (51.46 t/ha), and B:C ratio (4.32). Hybrid Mahy-Kalpataru emerged as the best performing variety, with maximum fruit yield (49.98 t/ha), gross return (₹8,49,740/ha), net return (₹6,84,977/ha), and B:C ratio (4.16). The combination of Hybrid Mahy-Kalpataru with 50 ppm NAA produced the highest fruit yield (62.17 t/ha) and economic return. The findings suggest that NAA (50 ppm) and Hybrid Mahy-Kalpataru together optimize brinjal productivity and profitability under semi-arid Rajasthan conditions.