Vol. 7, Issue 4 (2018)

Author(s):
Jharan Gurung, Suren Limbu and Laxuman Sharma

Abstract:
Solanum aethiopicum, an important vegetable of African origin has find special place in the diet of local community of Sikkim Himalayas. Though there is no written record of introduction, this crop is cultivated in almost every household of Sikkim state and abundantly grown in North Eastern part of India. The cultivation of S. aethiopicum in Sikkim hills has gain more importance after the declaration of Sikkim as Organic state owing to its wide adaptability to biotic and abiotic factors. Despite being an important crop there has been no study for standardization of cultivation practices. The present investigation was carried out to study the effect of planting time and spacing on the growth and fruit yield of the 'Bihi' (S. aethiopicum) and its market potential. The result of the present experiment showed significant effect of spacing on growth and fruit weight. Plants spaced at 60x60 cm recorded maximum for all the parameters under observations except for plant height. The maximum plant height was recorded in plants with 45x45 cm. On the other hand, June planting recorded maximum plant height, maximum number of branches per plant and maximum number of fruits per plant. While maximum plant spread was achieved by May planting. A late planting (July) yielded the bigger sized fruits with highest fruit weight, however, no significant effect was observed due to variation in planting times on fruit size. Despite the satisfactory growth parameters in June planted crop with the spacing of 60x60cm, May planting is recommended with 60x60 cm keeping in view the high marketable yield and wider availability period. More parameters on nutrient, irrigation, canopy management and adaptation to climate change can be the future thrust for research.