Vol. 11, Issue 11 (2022)

Author(s):
Pragnya Paramita, Simanta Mohanty, Sumita Das and Jayanta Kumar Beura

Abstract:
An investigation was undertaken during kharif 2017 in the Department of Seed Science and Technology, College of Agriculture, Bhubaneswar. The field experiment was taken up in Central Farm, OUAT, Bhubaneswar. The experiment was laid out in Split Plot Design with nipping (M₁) and non-nipping (M₂) as the main plot treatments and foliar sprays with nutrients and growth hormone as the sub-plot treatments. The experiment was conducted with four replications. Nipping of terminal buds was done at 60 DAS. Foliar sprays were done at 65 DAS, which included 2% DAP (T₂), MN mixture (0.5% ZnSO₄ + 0.3% boric acid) (T₃), 40 ppm NAA (T₄), and combination of all three treatments (T₅ = T₂ + T₃ + T₄). One Control (T₁) was also taken in which no foliar spray was done. Growth and yield attributing parameters, seed yield and quality were recorded. Nipping resulted in plant height which was 11.77% lower than that of plants without nipping. Foliar sprays had no significant effect on the plant height. Plants with nipping and foliar spray of 2% DAP + MN mixture + 40 ppm NAA (M₁T₅) recorded lowest plant height. Plants with nipping recorded 63.41% higher number of branches than the plants without nipping, whereas foliar sprays did not bring about any change in the number of branches per plant. Number of pods per plant increased significantly due to nipping, while foliar treatment positively influenced the pod development. The number of pods per plant was highest for T₅, followed by T₄. Number of seeds per pod was positively influenced by nipping and foliar spray treatments. Plants with nipping had higher number of seeds per pod (23.68) as compared to non-nipping (22.25). The treatment T₅ recorded highest number of seeds per pod, which was 20.6% higher than the Control. Mean seed yield per plant from nipping treatment was 17.65 g, as against 16.49 g from plants without nipping. Foliar application with 2% DAP + MN mixture + 40 ppm NAA (T₅) proved to be the most effective foliar spray treatment. Nipping in combination with foliar spray of 2% DAP + MN mixture + 40 ppm NAA gave highest seed yield per hectare of 16.82 q, which was 35.65% higher than M₂T₁ (i.e., non-nipping and no foliar spray). Seed quality parameters such as seed germination remained unaffected with both nipping and foliar spray treatments but parameters such as 1000-seed weight and protein content were influenced by the treatments. Seeds produced from plants without nipping and with foliar spray of 2% DAP + MN mixture + 40 ppm NAA (M₂T₅) recorded 31.36% protein content, followed by M₁T₅ (31.09%). Hence, nipping of terminal buds at 60 DAS, followed by foliar spray of 2% DAP + MN mixture + 40 ppm NAA at 65 DAS proved to be the most effective treatment combination in the experiment and can be used to enhance seed yield and quality of dhaincha.