Effect of growth regulators on yield and yield contributing characters of sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) variety Phule Bhaskar during kharif season

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted during Kharif, 2017 at Post Graduate Institute Farm, Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth, Rahuri, Dist. Ahmednagar to study the “Effect of growth regulators on yield and yield contributing characters in sunflower variety Phule Bhaskar during kharif season”.The experiment was laid out in a randomised block design (RBD) with three replications and eight treatments involving variety Phule Bhaskar and the plant growth regulators viz., T1 [Control], T2 [GA3 (250 ppm)], T3 [TIBA (240 ppm)], T4 [NAA (50 ppm)], T5 [Kinetin (200 ppm)], T6 [BA (250 ppm)], T7 [Boron (0.2%)], T8 [Hand Pollination].The present study was undertaken to find out an appropriate growth regulator for seed filling in sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.). The foliar sprays of PGR’s were given at the time of 50% flowering and seed formation.In case of yield and yield contributing characters viz., weight of seeds per head, total dry weight of the plant, yield q/ha, harvest index and oil content; among all the treatments, Treatment T7 (0.2% boron) resulted best performance which was significantly superior over control. The Treatment T3 (TIBA 240 ppm) recorded highest 100 seed weight (8.69 g) followed by treatment T7 (0.2% boron) (8.40 g) showed best performance.