YIELD OF PKM 1 TOMATO

Transcription

1 Indian J. Agric. Res., 44 (4) : , 2010 AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH COMMUNICATION CENTRE ccjournals.com / indianjournals.com nals.com EFFECT OF APPLICATION OF BORON ON GROWTH, QUALITY AND FRUIT YIELD OF PKM 1 TOMATO S. Sathya, S. Mani, P.P.P.. Mahendran and K. Arulmozhiselvan Department of Soil and Environment Agricultural College and Research Institute, Madurai , India. ABSTRACT The field experiment was conducted during 2006 at Agricultural College and Research Institute, Madurai to investigate the effect of application of boron on growth, quality and fruit yield of PKM 1 tomato.. The biometric characters such as plant height and number branches were e significantly influenced by soil and foliar application of boron. It was observed that among the various levels of soil application of boron, 20 kg ha -1 recorded increase in height and number of branches whereas among the various levels of foliar application of boron, 0.25 per cent borax spray produced taller plants with more e no.. of branches. The quality parameters of PKM 1 tomato fruit such as lycopene, ascorbic acid, crude protein and total soluble sugars were significantly increased due to the soil application of 20 kg ha -1 recording a value of 3.99 mg 100g -1, 23.0 mg 100g -1, per cent and 9.20 brix respectively espectively.. The crude fibre e and titratable acidity were e found to be highest in control that received the recommended dose of NPK alone, whereas the lowest value was recorded in soil application of 20 kg ha -1. The results also revealed that the highest fruit yield of 33 tonnes per hectare was recorded in treatment that received 20 kg ha -1 recording 33.6 per cent increase over control and was found to be significantly superior to rest of the treatments. The quadratic response curve fitted to the yield data of PKM 1 tomato (y = x 29.79x 2 ) and was found to be highly significant with an r value of 0.928**. The physical and economic optimum of borax for maximum yield of tomato was found to be kg ha -1 and kg ha -1 respectively at a price level of Rs.10 per kg of tomato and Rs.40 per kg of borax. Key words : Boron nutrition, Growth, Branches, Quality parameters, Tomato yield. INTRODUCTION Boron nutrition of crops has assumed greater importance in view of low boron status of soils of intensive agricultural areas of Tamil Nadu coupled with use of high analysis fertilizers and higher demand of boron by high yielding crops. The boron nutrition of vegetable crops, particularly the growth, quality and yield of tomato, has greater importance as it is a major vegetable crop grown in Tamil Nadu to an extent of hectares with a total production of 6.83 lakh tonnes of tomato per annum. The low available boron status of vegetable growing tract is attributed to the low organic matter status of soil, high level of CaCO 3, unfavourable ph and fixation. Tomato is an important mineral, protein and vitamin rich vegetable crop, plays a vital role in Indian economy by virtue of its various modes of consumption in human diet. Micronutrients are required by plants in very small quantities, yet they are very effective in regulating plant growth due to enzymatic action. With this per intro, this research work was carried out to study the response of tomato to boron application in boron deficient soil.

2 MATERIAL AND METHODS The experiment was conducted in PKM 1 tomato during the year 2006 at Agricultural College and Research Insitutution., Maduri. The experiment consisted of 12 treatments including control was laid out as per randomized block design (RBD) and replicated thrice with net plot size 2.0 X 4.0 m under irrigated conditions. The standard agronomical practices were adopted for raising the nursery and transplanting the seedlings during experimentation. Treatments are soil application of boron in the form of 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 kg ha -1 (T 1 T 6 ) and foliar application of boron as a 0.25 and 0.5 per cent spray twice on 50 th and 80 th, 60 th and 90 th and 50 th and 90 th days after planting (T 7 T 12 ). Plant protection and cultural operations were followed during cropping period. Plant height and branches The plant height was measured at vegetative, flowering and harvesting stage of crop growth from the fixed point i.e., from just above the ground level to the growing tip of the main stem and expressed in centimeter. Plant height was taken at five plants in each treatment at random. The number of branches per plant at harvest stage was counted and observations were recorded. Fresh fruit samples were collected and analyzed for total soluble solids, titratable acidity, ascorbic acid, crude protein, crude fibre and lycopene content. Fruit samples were dried, powdered and stored in labelled containers for analysis of their nutrient contents. Estimation of quality traits are as follows: 1. Titratable acidity: Fruit acidity was estimated by the method described in A.O.A.C. (1962) and expressed in terms of citric acid per cent. 2. Ascorbic acid: Ascorbic acid was estimated by the method described in A.O.A.C. (1962) and expressed as mg 100 g -1 of fruit sample. 3. Total soluble solids of fruit juice: Twenty-five gram of tomato fruit was macerated and the volume was made up to 250 ml and then filtered through glass wool. An aliquot of 100 ml of filtrate was Vol. 44, No. 4, pipetted out into a previously weighed 250 ml beaker and evaporated to dryness. Difference in weight was used for deriving total soluble solids and was expressed in per cent. 4. Crude protein: Fruit samples were analyzed for total N by Microkjeldahl method. The N content of the fruit was multiplied by the factor 6.25 to get the crude protein content of the fruit and expressed in per cent. 5. Crude fibre: Crude fibre content of fruit was estimated using the method given by Chopra and Kanwar (1976). 6. Lycopene ycopene: Lycopene content was determined by adopting the method of Sadasivam and Manickam (1992) and expressed in mg 100 g -1. Yield The fruits were harvested at regular intervals of once in five days from 1 st pickings (90 days after planting). Uniformly 10 fruits were weighed individually for each treatment for every picking and the mean of this was taken for comparison. The yield of fruits per plot was recorded for individual harvest and expressed in kg ha -1. The yield data of PKM 1 tomato were subjected to linear and quadratic response functions and the economic and physical optimum also worked out for optimizing borax level to PKM 1 tomato. The data obtained from the investigation were subjected to statistical scrutiny to determine the effects of treatments. The data were analyzed by adopting randomized block design, and simple correlations were worked out to determine the possible relationships as described by Panse and Sukhatme (1967). RESULTS TS AND DISCUSSION Plant height and branches (Table 1) The plant height and number of branches at harvest stage of PKM 1 tomato were significantly influenced by the various levels of soil and foliar application of boron in boron deficient soil. The highest plant height and number of branches were recorded in treatment that received soil application

3 276 INDIAN JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH Table 1 : Plant height (cm) and number of branches of PKM 1 tomato as influenced by various levels of boron. Treatments(T) Plant height Mean Number of branches at harvest stage Vegetative(S1) Flowering(S2) Harvest(S3) T T T T T T T T T T T T Mean SEd CD (P=0.05) S SEd 0.04 T CD (P=0.05) 0.08 SXT of 20 kg ha -1 (T 5 ) in harvest stage whereas the lowest value was recorded in control at vegetative stage. Soil application of boron was found to be more effective in promoting the height of plant than the foliar application of boron. Similar result was reported by Fazalur Rahman Mallick and Muthukrishnan (1979). Verma et al.(1973) studied the effect of boron on plant height and reported that the improvement in plant height with the application of boron might be due to the enhancement of photosynthetic and other metabolic activities, which led to an increase in various metabolites responsible for cell division and cell elongation of shoot and roots. Photosynthetic reactions were accelerated in the presence of boron, which ultimately results in increase in plant growth. Similar results were earlier reported by Lal and Rao (1954) and Rawat and Mathpal (1984). The increase of above could be observed with the age of the crop and may be due to the meristematic tissue development and cell division with the age of the plant. The increase in plant height might be attributed to enhanced nutrient absorption and uptake by the plants with the application of boron, which ultimately resulted in improved plant growth. The synergistic influence of boron on plant height was observed by Rao and Vidyasagar (1981) in sunflower. Rapid cessation of root growth is often associated with boron deficiency and supply of boron was found to stimulate the root elongation (Pilbeam and Kirkby, 1985). Root proliferation is an important factor; because of its increased root surface, plant has the ability to absorb more amounts of nutrients from soil, which resulted in increased plant height of tomato. A significant positive correlation was observed between mean available boron content of

4 Vol. 44, No. 4, 2010 Table 2: Soil and foliar application of boron on quality parameters of PKM 1 Tomato 277 Treatments(T) Lycopene Ascorbic Acid Crude protein Crudefibre Total soluble sugars Titratable (mg 100g -1 ) (mg 100g -1 ) (%) (%) (brix) acidity (%) T T T T T T T T T T T T SEd CD(p=0.05) soil and plant height and number of branches (r = ** and r = 0.723**) Quality parameters of PKM 1 tomato The lycopene content, ascorbic acid, total soluble sugars (TSS), crude protein, crude fibre content and titrable acidity of tomato fruit was significantly influenced by soil and foliar application of boron. The highest value of lycopene content, ascorbic acid, total soluble sugars (TSS), crude protein were recorded in treatment that received 20 kg ha -1 (T 5 ) whereas the lowest value of above recorded in control (Table - 2). Similar findings were also reported by Paithankar et al. (2004). Further, they also reported that boron played an important role in the pigment formation. Esteban et al. (1985) reported that enhanced absorption of added N and also due to the synergistic effects of N and boron in soil and crops. Boron involved in regulation of carbohydrate balance and helped to increase the TSS content (Uziak and Nurznski, 1964). The mean available boron content of soil was positively correlated with lycopene, ascorbic content, total soluble solids and crude protein content of tomato (r =0.920**, r = 0.921**, r = 0.882** and r = 0.961**) (Table 4). Crude fibre content and titratable acidity were found to be observed the highest in control that received recommended dose of N, P 2 O 5 and K 2 120: 60:50 kg ha -1 (T 1 ). This might be due to the increased concentration of other constituents such as crude protein, sugar, total soluble sugar and ascorbic acid which resulted in decrease in crude fibre content of PKM 1 tomato fruits. The titratable acidity decreased with increasing levels of boron application. This might be due to the increased concentration of TSS, which decreased the acidity of PKM 1 tomato (Verma et al., 1995). Correlation studies showed that negative value between crude fibre, titrable acidity and available boron content (r = and r =-0.889**) (Table 4). Yield Green matter production (Shoot, fruit and total) : The results of statistical analysis of green matter yield viz., shoot, fruit and total yield significantly increased due to soil and foliar application of boron in boron deficient soil (Table 3). The results revealed that the highest green matter yield was recorded in treatment that received 20 kg ha -1 and was found to be significantly superior to rest of the treatments involving soil and

5 278 INDIAN JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH Table 3: Soil and foliar application of boron on green and dry matter production of PKM 1 tomato (t ha -1 ) Treatments(T) Green matter production Dry matter production Shoot Fruit Total Shoot Fruit Total T T T T T T T T T T T T SEd CD(P=0.05) foliar application of boron. The fruit yield increase was 33.6 per cent over control. Bose and Tripathi (1996) reported that yield of tomato significantly increased besides, reducing the fruit cracking. The improvement in plant growth might be due to enhancement in photosynthetic and other metabolic activities, which lead to an increase in plant metabolism. It was also observed that soil application of boron enhanced the flower bud initiation and fruit setting. Similar results were also reported by Arora et al. (1983); Hooda et al. (1984) and Prabha (1995). The fruit yield increased progressively with an increasing soil application of boron, attaining the highest yield in 20 kg ha -1 and thereafter declined slightly in treatment that received 25 kg ha -1. Verma et al. (1973) also observed that soil application of boron significantly increased the number of leaves per plant, height of the plant, fresh and dry weight of fruits. This finding was corroboration with Fazalur Rahman Mallick and Muthukrishnan (1979), Gupta et al. (2003) and Kannan (2004). Gupta (1993) also observed that soil application of boron increased the green matter production of tomato besides dry matter and ash content. Soil application of boron promoted lateral branching and growth of shoot and fruit. Similar result was also reported by Swaroop et al. (1998). The fruit yield of PKM 1 tomato was positively correlated with mean available boron content of soil (r = 0.896**), boron content of shoot (r = 0.975**) and boron uptake of shoot (r = 0.989**) (Table 4). Response function of PKM 1 tomato as influenced by soil application of boron The response of PKM 1 tomato to various levels of soil application of boron as 0, 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 kg ha -1 was fitted using linear and quadratic response equations. The linear response function (y = a + bx) of tomato to various levels of boron resulted y = x with an r value of 0.788*. The above linear response function revealed a constant of with a slope value of The perusal of the result of the yield data revealed that the yield of PKM 1 tomato increased with increasing

6 Vol. 44, No. 4, 2010 Table 4: Correlation coefficient between various independent and dependent variables. 279 Independent variable (X) Dependent variable (Y) Simple correlation coefficient (r) Available boron content Plant height 0.874** Available boron content Number of branches 0.723** Available boron content Lycopene content 0.920** Available boron content Ascorbic acid 0.921** Available boron content Total soluble sugars 0.882** Available boron content Crude protein 0.961** Available boron content Crude fibre ** Available boron content Titrable acidity ** Available boron content Fruit yield 0.896** Boron content in shoot Fruit yield 0.975** Boron uptake in shoot Fruit yield 0.989** levels of boron application upto 20 kg ha -1 and declined thereafter upto the level of 25 kg ha -1. Therefore, a quadratic response function was fitted (y = a + bx + cx 2 ) which depicted y = x x 2 with an r value of 0.928** revealing the linear response followed by a drop in the yield level at a higher dose of borax. The correlation coefficient value between the levels of boron and yield of tomato was found to be highly significant with an r value of 0.928**. Physical and economic optimum levels of borax for maximizing the yield of tomato The quadratic response curve fitted with various levels of soil application of borax was used to optimize the physical and economic dose of borax in Madukkur soil series with a low available boron status. The quadratic response of yield of PKM 1 tomato to various levels of borax y = x 29.79x. PHYSICAL OPTIMUM dy/dx = x dy/dx = x 59.58x = x = / = The results revealed that the physical optimum of borax was found to be kg ha -1 for maximizing the yield of tomato in Madukkur soil series. ECONOMIC OPTIMUM dy/dx = Px / Py x = 40/ x = 40/ x = / = The price of input per kg of borax was Rs. 40 and the output price of tomato per kg was Rs. 10.The results revealed that the physical optimum for maximizing the yield of PKM 1 tomato in boron deficient Madukkur soil series was found to be kg of borax whereas the economic optimum for maximum economic yield was kg of borax per hectare at a price level of Rs. 40 per kg of borax and Rs. 10 per kg of tomato fruit. Dry matter production (Shoot, fruit and total) Soil application of 20 kg ha -1 significantly increased the dry matter production of shoot, fruit and total than rest of the treatments involving soil and foliar application of boron. Application of boron increased more number of branches with bigger fruit size and fruit set and ultimately led to higher dry matter production of fruit. The present findings are in conformity with the results reported by Elabeen and Methlly (1982) and

7 280 INDIAN JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH Maharana et al. (1990). This might be due to increase in RNA and DNA contents in reproductive tissues in the presence of boron, which may enhanced the flower bud initiation and fruit setting. The results also revealed that soil application of boron recorded higher dry matter production as compared to foliar application of borax and control. The increased dry mater production might be attributed to greater accumulation of photosynthesis by fruit. Lalit Bhatt et al. (2004) reported that boron application enhanced the photosynthetic activity and increased the production and accumulation of carbohydrates in vegetative part of plant, which resulted in higher dry matter production of shoot. The increased total dry matter production of tomato might be attributed to greater accumulation of photosynthates by fruits and vegetative parts. Similar results were also reported by Kumbhar and Deshmukh (1993). REFERENCES A.O.A.C. (1962). Association of Official Agricultural Chemists. Methods of Analysis. Washington D.C. (USA). Arora et al. (1983). Haryana J. Horti. Sci., 12: Bose, U. S. and Tripathi, S. K. (1996). Crop Res., 12 (1): Chopra, S. L. and Kanwar, J. S. (1976). Analytical Agricultural Chemistry, Kalyani Pubishers, New Delhi. Elabeen, A. Z. and Methlly, A. M. (1982). Agri.Res. Rev., 60(3): Esteban et al. (1985). Plant and Soil, 88(10): Fazalur Rahman Mallick, M and Muthukrishnan, C.R. (1979). South Indian Hort., 27: Gupta P.K. et al. (2003). Ann. Agric. Res. New Series. 24(1): Gupta, V. C. (1993). CRC Press, Boca Ratoz FL, USA. Hooda R.S. et al. (1984). Haryana J.Hort. Sci., 12: Kannan. P. (2004). M.Sc. Thesis.Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore. Khumbhar, V. S. and Deshmukh, S. S. (1993). South Indian Hort., 41: Lal, K. N and Rao, M. S. (1954). Micro Elements Nutrition of Plants. Bull.. Bhupress,Varanasi,India, pp Lalit Bhatt et al. (2004). Prog. Hort., 36(2): Maharana J. et al. (1990). Environment and Ecology, 8(1): Paithankar et al. (2004). J. Soils and Crops, 14 (1): Panse, V. G. and Sukhatme, P. V. (1967). Statistical Methods for Agricultural Workers, ICAR, New Delhi. Pilbeam. D. J. and Kirkby, E. A. (1985). J. Pl. Nutr., 6(7): Prabha. K. (1995). M.Sc.(Ag.) Thesis. Tamil Nadu Agric. Univ., Coimbatore. Rao, N. and Vidyasagar, S. (1981). Andhra Agric. J., 28: Rawat, P. S. and Mathpal, K. N. (1984). Sci. and Cul., 50(8): Sadasivam, S. and Manickam, A. (1992). Biochemical Methods for Agricultural Sciences. Willey Eastern Ltd., and Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Ciombatore. Swarrop Krishan et al. (1998). Journal of the Andaman Science Association. 14(1): Uziak, A. and Nurznski. (1964). Hort. Abstr., 37: 185. Verma A.N. et al. (1973). Mysore J. Agric.Sci.,7(1): Verma S.K. et al. (1995). Veg. Sci., 22(1): 5-8.