Effect of Paclobutrazol Application on Nutrient Dynamics, Vigour and Fruit Yield in 'Alphonso' Mango (Mangifera indica L.)

Application of Paclobutrazol to 22 year-old 'Alphonso' mango trees significantly retarded plant height, plant spread and tree volume. Number of flushes and vigour of emerging new flush also decreased significantly besides production of fewer leaves, reduced leaf area, twig length and dry matter content. Fruit yield increased significantly in trees receiving Paclobutrazol treatment, compared to 'control' trees in all four years of study. This increase was distinctly higher during the on-years 2005 and 2007 by 133% and 77%, respectively, over 'control' due to more profuse flowering and fruit-set. Differences in mineral composition of various tree parts were significant except for N and P content. Paclobutrazol application caused significant increase in Ca, Mg and Mn content in the leaf. Substantial reduction observed in dry matter content and reduced leaf area accompanied by greater removal of nutrients by increased fruit production under Paclobutrazol, application may weaken the tree significantly. The trees would then need proper and adequate nutrient management vis-à-vis untreated trees, to achieve sustainable productivity

Direct Nutrient-Feeding to 'Ney Poovan' Banana (Musa Sp. AB) Bunch under Organic or Conventional Farming for Yield, Fruit Quality and Profitability

Three types of direct nutrient-feeding methods [applying 500g fresh cow-dung and 100ml water enriched with (i) 2.5g each of urea + SOP; (ii) 100ml of panchangavya; and (iii) 100ml of cow urine] were evaluated in 'Ney Poovan' banana grown under organic or conventional farming. Plants grown under conventional farming were more robust in girth and length of their pseudostem and number of leaves retained on the plant at harvest. Conventional farming produced 62.6% and 59.0% higher fruit and bunch weight than plants grown under organic farming. Quality-wise, fruits from organic farming were superior in pulp:peel ratio and pulp total soluble solids (TSS). Conventional farming significantly increased P, S, Fe, Mn and Zn content of the pulp over organic farming. Benefit:cost ratio was significantly higher at 3.61 under conventional farming, while, it was 2.15 under organic farming. All the methods of direct nutrient-feeding of banana bunch tested were significantly superior to 'Control' where the male bud was retained on the bunch until harvest. Increase in fruit and bunch weight was in the following order of blend: urea + SOP > panchangavya > cow urine, with fresh cow dung. Improvement in pulp:peel ratio and benefit:cost ratio was maximum when direct nutrient-feeding was done using cow-dung blended with urea + SOP, while, TSS of the pulp declined to 24.0oB from 25.1oB when pancahgavya was used. Results indicated that conventional farming with adequate organic manuring, and, adopting direct nutrient-feeding of the banana bunch using cow-dung slurry enriched with 2.5g each of urea and SOP, achieved high bunch yield, pulp:peel ratio, and was profitable

Bio-Fortification with Iron and Manganese for Enhanced Bunch Yield in 'Robusta' Banana through Direct Nutrient-Feeding

Enhancement of bunch weight together with bio-fortification with Fe and Mn was attempted in 'Robusta' banana by enriching with 0-1.25g bunch-1 each of FeSO4 (heptahydrate) and MnSO4 (monohydrate). Bunch yield and content of Fe and Mn in the pulp substantially increased by direct nutrient feeding of bunches with 7.5g each of urea and SOP besides 0.75g each of FeSO4 and MnSO4. The improved technique holds promise for combating anemia in humans by bio-fortification of banana with Fe besides supplemental Mn in diet

Influence of Fermented Cocopeat on Seedling Vigour in some Vegetables, Marigold and Pigeon Pea

Seedlings of four solanaceous, two cruciferous, five cucurbitaceous vegetables, and, marigold and pigeon pea were grown in pro-trays filled with 'Arka Fermented' coco-peat or on conventional raised bed. Seedlings grown on raised bed were superior in all the crops excepting capsicum. Pigeon pea recorded significantly longer tap root in pro-trays with the root getting matted at the base of the coco-peat plug. The plug is rendered redundant at transplanting. To enhance the vigour of 'Arka Ananya' tomato seedlings in pro-trays, modification in growth medium was attempted by blending soil in various proportions and adding 0.2% humic acid to the irrigation water. Blending cocopeat:soil at 3:1 ratio caused some improvement compared to that with cocopeat alone or 1:1 and 1:3 blends of cocopeat:soil. Soil alone, placed in the pro-tray, also failed to equal the high seedling vigour produced by conventional raised bed method. Addition of 0.2% humic acid in water used for irrigating pro-trays showed no improvement in seedling vigour. Reduced vigour of seedlings raised in pro-trays in several vegetables, and poor performance of such seedlings in tomato, cabbage and cauliflower crops in the field, indicates a need for further improvement in the technology

Root Activity Distribution and Inter-plant Root Competition in 'Robusta' Banana (Musa Sp., 'AAA') under High-Density Planting Determined by Tracer Technique

By applying soil injection technique using carrier-free 32P as a tracer in 'Robusta' banana (Musa sp. 'AAA') planted at 1.5m x 1.5m spacing, during the 8th leaf stage of growth, 52.04 and 62.96% of active roots were present at 25cm across and 15cm depth, respectively. At the 16th leaf stage, only 40.5% of active roots were traced at 25cm across, and root activity increased at wider distances and deeper layers. At flower-initiation stage, a significant gain in root activity was seen at 45cm depth. Distance-wise distribution, however, did not change appreciably. At the shooting stage, 46.89% and 43.98% of the active roots were present closest to the pseudostem (25cm distance) and soil surface (15cm), respectively. However, the greatest depth (45cm) gained active roots (38.51%) at shooting-stage, creating an hour-glass pattern of root distribution, mainly owing to migration of roots from the surface (15cm deep) soil. However, a strong presence of active roots persisted close to the base of the plant, and in the surface-soil. A small proportion (>1%) of phosphorus applied to the main plant was absorbed by the orthogonal neighbour located at 1.5m distance, indicating practically insignificant competition with its closest neighbour. None of the diagonal neighbours located farthest (at 2.1m distance from the main plant) showed any activity of the tracer indicating that the root competition with the main plant was absent. Results indicate that a spacing of 1.5m × 1.5m in high-density planting of 'Robusta' banana raised in sandy-loam is optimum, with practically no untoward competition from the root for nutrients applied to each plant

Nutrient Dynamics of Annual Growth-Flush in Mango (Mangifera indica L.)

Internal nutrient dynamics in mango (cv. Alphonso) were studied during its annual growth flush (January - June, 2002). The study consisted of sampling mature leaves and growth belonging to the previous thirteen seasons at least (representing the seasonal growth of the previous six years) at fruit-set and post-harvest stages of plant growth. The samples were analyzed for N, P, K, Ca and Mg. The study indicated that phosphorus moved from 2nd, 3rd and 4th internodes to current season's growth and accumulated at other internodes, potassium moved from mature leaves to the new growth and accumulated in all the other internodes. Calcium and magnesium moved from 9th and older internodes to current season's growth, whereas, N was mostly remobilized from much older parts and by absorption from soil. The results imply that fertilizer application in productive mango trees should aim at keeping nutrient reserves of the permanent framework well-supplied to achieve sustained fruit production

Enhancing Fruit Yield in 'Ney Poovan' Banana (Musa paradisiaca L.) by De-Navelling and Feeding N, K and S through Distal Stalk-End of the Bunch

De-navelling and feeding ammonium sulphate (AS) (5-25 g/plant) with or without potassium sulphate (2.5-12.5 g/ plant) blended in 500 g of fresh cow-dung and applied to the distal stalk-end of the bunch of 'Ney Poovan' banana (Musa sp. L., AB) showed that the nutrients moved from the blend into the bunch and significantly enhanced weight of the fruits and of the bunch, compared to retention of flower, de-navelling (removal of male inflorescence) and application of 500 g cow-dung only to the excised distal stalk- end of the bunch. De-navelling caused 7.1% (5623 g) higher bunch yield, which increased to 13.9% (5980 g) when cow dung alone was applied after de-navelling. When cow dung was blended with 5 g of AS and 2.5 g of Sulphate of Potash, the response was 66.5% (9362 g) over de-navelling and application of cow dung alone and 78.3% (9362 g) over retention of male bud throughout (5250 g). A significantly higher N content, N uptake, Ndff (nitrogen derived from fertilizer), fertilizer N uptake, utilization of fertilizer and K and S content were observed when cow-dung enriched with AS and SOP was applied. Nitrogen content and all the parameters of N use were distinctly higher in the basal portion of the bunch indicating the flow of the applied nutrients upward from the de-navelled end. Results showed that application of 5 g ammonium sulphate and 2.5 g sulphate of potash blended in 500 g of fresh cow dung to the distal stalk-end of the bunch of 'Ney Poovan' banana was the most promising in boosting the yield, improving the nutritional composition in respect of N, K and S without adversely affecting the fruit quality

Influence of De-Navelling and Stalk-End Nutrient Application on Nutrient Composition of 'Robusta' Banana Fruits

The contents of N, P, Mg, S, Fe and Mn in banana fruit increased significantly due to denavelling from 0.32%, 0.086%, 0.12%, 0.024%, 52 ppm and 4.8 ppm, under 'control' to 0.37%, 0.085%, 0.13%, 0.027%, 59 ppm and 6.7 ppm, respectively. Dipping stalk end of the bunch in fresh cow dung enhanced these above nutrients to 0.40%, 0.086%, 0.14%. 0.028%, 63 ppm and 7.6 ppm, respectively. When cow dung was enriched with ammonium sulphate, the fruits showed 0.50-0.51% of N, 0.081-0.090% of P, 0.16-0.23% of Mg, 0.032-0.040% of S, 59-111 ppm of Fe and 8.1-17.8 ppm of Mn. Addition of potassium sulphate further enhanced this effect in respect of K (2.11-2.44%) and Fe (74-115 ppm) in fruit. Increasing level of ammonium sulphate in the blend significantly decreased Ca content of the fruit from 0.24% at 5 g to 0.10% at 25 g. When potassium sulphate was included in the blend, Ca content showed further reduction (0.19% at 5 g to 0.10% at 25g). At 15 g of ammonium sulphate and 7.5 g of potassium sulphate the maximum bunch weight of 27.993 kg was obtained (as against 16.724kg under retention of male bud throughout) corresponding to the enhanced nutrient composition of 2.44% of K, 0.12% of Ca, 0.18% of Mg, 0.033% of S, 115ppm of Fe and 14.9ppm of Mn that may have nutraceutical implications

Effect of nursery raising practices of seedlings and phosphatic fertilizer management in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) crop on growth and yield

The raised bed seedlings produced significantly higher fruit yield of 20.4% (71.147 tonnes/ha) than the tomato grown from pro-tray seedlings (59.361 tonnes/ha). Banding of superphosphate along with other fertilizers at 5cm depth showed significantly higher yield, dry matter production, P content as well as P uptake. The fruit yield and dry matter obtained were the highest at 80% recommended P dose. In the tomato grown from raised bed seedlings, 82.706 tonnes/ ha fruit yield was obtained that was 49.3% higher than 55.383 tonnes/ha of tomato grown from pro-tray seedlings when 80% P dose was banded at 5cm depth

Evaluating Direct Feeding of De-Navelled Banana Bunch with Nutrients for Enhancing Fruit Quality, Yield and Nutrient Content

Direct feeding of nutrients to bunch after de-navelling was evaluated in seven varieties of banana (Musa sp.) cvs. 'Grand Naine' (GN), 'Robusta'(R), 'Dwarf Cavendish'(DC), 'Ney Poovan'(NP), 'Nanjangud Rasabale'(NR), 'Nendran' (N) and 'Red banana' (RB) using 500g fresh cow-dung, 100ml water, and 2.5 - 10g each of urea and SOP in combinations. Across varieties, fruit and bunch weight increased by 41.5-104.0% and 44.5-97.3%, respectively, compared to 'control'. Maximum increase in fruit weight was observed with a blend of urea + SOP each at 10g in 'GN', 7.5g in 'R', 'DC', 'N' and 'RB', while, the level of urea + SOP was best at 2.5g for 'NP' and 5.0g for 'NR'. Magnitude of increase in fruit and bunch weight was higher in the cut-end (distal end) of the bunch compared to the leaf-end (proximal end). Improvement in pulp:peel ratio was best in 'NP' (4.29-5.91) and 'NR' (2.99-4.32), while, it was lowest in 'GN' (2.69- 2.72). Total soluble solids (TSS) in the pulp decreased with increasing fruit/bunch yield. 'N' showed an increase in TSS from 23.9-24.8°Brix in 'control', to 27.1-27.2° at 7.5g each combined urea and SOP application. Benefit: cost increased from 0.35 to 1.20 in 'GN', 0.79 to 1.62 in 'R', 0.60 to 1.43 in 'DC', 3.01 to 5.22 in 'NP', 2.16 to 3.41 in 'NR', 1.37 to 3.67 in 'N' and from 2.82 to 4.96 in 'RB', indicating obvious profitability of the technique. Nutrient composition in respect of N, K and S showed a general increase consequent to direct nutrient feeding. Differences in fruit quality and nutrient composition between the top and the bottom portion of the bunch differed with variety