Influence of plant growth regulators on growth, seed yield and quality of okra (Abelmoschus esculentus (L) Moench.)

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted, to study the effect of plant growth regulators on growth, yield and quality of okra Cv. Parbhani Kranthi. It revealed that maximum plant height was observed in the plots sprayed with GA 200 ppm, while spraying the plants with NAA 200 ppm resulted in increase in number of leaves, leaf area, plant dry weight, number of fruits, fruit girth, fruit yield per plant, fruit yield (t/ha) and ascorbic acid content over the control (sprayed with distilled water). The growth retardant CCC 400 ppm found to be increased total chlorophyll content in both leaves and fruit and decreased days to 50 per cent flowering. However, increased fruit weight was observed by spraying Marwelstim 2ml per L. Plant growth regulators were foliar sprayed on 30 and 45 days after sowing. * Present address : Department of Horticulture, MPKV, Rahuri-413 722, India. Physiological and biochemical role of plant growth regulators in crop production is a well-known phenomenon. The use of plant growth regulator promotes growth along the longitudinal axis, increases in number of leaves, early flower initiation, fruit set and subsequently contributes towards higher production and productivity when applied at various concentrations. Among the green vegetables, okra accounts for 60 per cent export from India to Middle East countries and the variety Parbhani Kranti have high export potential (Pandey, 1998). Sayed et al. (1997) and Nargish et al. (1997) obtained maximum vegetative growth, yield and quality by foliar spraying plant growth regulators in okra. By using plant growth regulators, it is possible to achieve the desirable standards and norms in terms of quality for exportable production coupled with enhanced yield. Therefore, the present investigation was carried out to study the effect of plant growth regulators on growth, yield and quality of okra Cv. Parbhani Kranti. The present investigation was carried out at Department of Botany, M.A.U., Parbhani during kharif season of 2000-2001 in a randomized block design with fourteen treatments and two replications. The treatment consist of different concentrations of growth regulators viz., GA and NAA at 100 and 200 ppm, CCC at 200 and 400 ppm, Marwelstim, Quantum and Agroseastim at 2 ml and 3 ml per L respectively and urea at 0.1 per cent were applied as foliar spray on 30 and 45 days after sowing. Distilled water was sprayed as control. The recommended dose of fertilizers @ 50:50:50 kg NPK/ha were applied at the time of sowing and remaining half dose of N was applied in the form of urea (top dressing) one month after sowing and other standard cultural practices recommended for okra were uniformly followed for all treatments. The seeds were dibbled at a spacing of 45 x 30 cm. The observations regarding growth, yield and quality of okra were taken and the data subjected to statistical analysis. The data from Table 1 revealed that there is a significant difference among the treatments in respect of growth parameters. GA 200 ppm was found to be significantly superior in increasing plant height (117.33 cm) over rest of the treatments followed by GA 100