Effect of concentrated organic manure and plant growth regulator on yield attributes of Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.)

Introduction

Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) is an ancient cereal grain, which upon domestication has evolved from largely a food grain to a feed and malting grain (Baik and Ullrich, 2008; Pourkheirandish and Komatsuda,2007) [4,17] . It belongs to grass family poaceae, tribe triticeae and genus Hordeum, comprising nearly 350 species. Out of which Hordeum consists of about 32 species including the wild and cultivated one. Barley is a diploid with 2n: 14 chromosomes. The cultivated barley (Hordeum vulgare ssp. vulgare) is one of the oldest of the cultivated plants. Barley can grow in a wide range of environments than any other cereal, including extremes of latitude, longitude and high altitude (Vangool and Vernon,2006) [25] . It is cultivated mainly for human food supply and grown as animal feed, for malt production and human food. It is frequently being described as the most cosmopolitan of the crops and also considered, as poor man's crop because of its low input requirement and better adaptability to drought, salinity, alkalinity and marginal lands (FAO, 2002) [7] . It ranks fifth among cropping rain production in the world after maize, wheat, rice and soybean (Miralles et al., 2013; Soleymani and Shahrajabian, 2011) [16,22] . Among major cereals, the total cultivated area of barley in the world is 47 million hectares with an annual production of 3136 kg/ha (FAO,2018) [6] . Barley ranks next to wheat both in acreage and production among rabi cereals in India (Tarun et al. 2013) [24] . In India, barley is cultivated on about 6.95 lakhs hectare with production of 1743 lakhs tons and productivity of 2508 kg/ha (Anonymous, 2013) [1] . Concentrated organic manures are nutrient-rich amendments that enhances soil fertility, microbial activity, and plant growth in sustainable agricultural systems (Hue et al., 2000) [10] . Neem cake, a by-product of neem seed oil extraction, is rich in nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and trace elements essential for plant growth. It improves soil organic matter content and fosters microbial diversity (Subramanian et al., 2014) [23] . Bone meal, a powdered product from animal bones, is a concentrated source of phosphorus and calcium (15-20%) vital for root development and flowering in plants (Wani et al., 2017) [26] . Mustard cake, derived from mustard seed oil, after extraction is a good source of N-(4-6%), P-(1-3%), and K-(1-2%), along with several micronutrients. It contains glucosinolates and natural compounds with pesticidal properties, which helps in managing soil pests and diseases (Kumar et al., 2018) [13] . The use of mustard cake also improves soil water retention and organic carbon levels, enhancing soil health (Singh et al., 2004) [21] . Plant hormones have been studied for a long time due to their strong link with the regulation of growth and development in plants. Brassinosteroids (BRs) are a class of polyhydroxylated steroid hormones that play a crucial role in regulating plant growth, development, and stress responses (Clouse et al., 1996) [5] . Brassinosteroids are known to promote photosynthesis, nutrient uptake, and antioxidant activity, which improve plant growth and stress tolerance (Awan and Khan,2023) [3] . According to Yang et al. (2019) [27] , brassinosteroids (BRs) may be a useful phytohormone to support phytoremediation. Plant species contain brassinosteroid in large quantities, which play a part in regulating the growth and development of plants. In order to increase plant growth and development, brassinosteroids are involved in metabolism; encourage cell division, cell elongation along with important physiological functions including photosynthesis and antioxidant system. Salicylic acid is a phenolic plant hormone that is known to enhance photosynthesis, promote seed germination, and regulate stomatal closure, contributing to overall plant resilience and productivity (Hayat et al., 2010) [9] . Salicylic Acid plays an essential role in the regulation of plant growth and development, photosynthetic rate, ion uptake and transport, stomatal conductance and transpiration (Khan et al. 2003) [12] .

Materials and Methods

The experiment was conducted during the Rabi season of 2024 at Himalayan University in Itanagar. The Crop Research Farm is located in Jollang on the university campus, situated at 27.14 N latitude and 93.62 E longitude, at an altitude of 320 metres above sea level. The site belongs to the Eastern Himalayan Region, and the agro-climatic zone falls under the sub-tropical zone of Arunachal Pradesh. Soil Samples drawn randomly from 0 to 15 cm depth were analysed for physical and chemical properties. The soil was sandy loam and chemical analysis indicate that soil is acidic in reaction, medium in organic carbon, high in nitrogen, low in phosphorus and medium in potassium. The barley variety used was RD-2503. The experiment was laid out in a Randomized Block Design (RBD) with seven treatments and three replications. The plot size was 3 m × 3 m with a spacing of 20 cm × 10 cm. The treatments were as follows: 1. T1: Control 2. T2: 100% RDF + Bone Meal + Salicylic Acid (100 ppm) 3. T3: 100% RDF + Bone Meal + Brassinosteroid (0.1 ppm) 4. T4: 100% RDF + Neem Cake + Salicylic Acid (100 ppm) 5. T5: 100% RDF + Neem Cake + Brassinosteroid (0.1 ppm) 6. T6: 100% RDF + Mustard Cake + Salicylic Acid (100 ppm) 7. T7: 100% RDF + Mustard Cake + Brassinosteroid (0.1 ppm)

Results and Discussion

The data pertaining to yield attributes such as spike length, spikelet per spike, test weight, grain yield, straw yield and harvest index are presented in the following tables. Significant variation was observed among the treatments. The treatment T7 (mustard cake + brassinosteroid) outperformed other treatments, followed by T3 (bone meal + brassinosteroid) and T5 (neem cake + brassinoteroid). These results reflect higher efficiency of brassinosteroid when combined with various organic manures. Similar findings were reported by Awan and Khan (2023) [3] where combined application of brassinosteroid and organic fertilizers showed improved yield attributes in cereal crop. The increased spike length observed in T7 treatment (mustard cake + brassinosteroid) can be attributed to the synergistic impact of organic amendment and plant growth regulator. Mustard cake enhances soil nutrient availability by enriching organic matter and providing essential nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus, leading to improved root development and nutrient uptake efficiency (Sangeetha and Baskar, 2016) [20] . Simultaneously, brassinosteroids play a crucial role in promoting cell elongation, vascular differentiation directly influencing spike elongation (Zhang et al., 2014) [28] . The combined effect of mustard cake and brassinosteroid creates an optimal growth environment, significantly contributing to observed increase in spike length in barley. [29] . Organic manures improve nutrient availability necessary for meristem differentiation (Sangeetha and Baskar, 2016) [20] . (1995) [18] . [15] who reported enhanced grain filling and yield in cereals treated with brassinosteroids. [11] who demonstrated that organic amendments improve shoot biomass by enriching soil nutrient profiles. Additionally, Anuradha et al. (2018) [2] reported that brassinosteroid positively influence vegetative growth by stimulating photosynthesis and water-use efficiency, contributing to increased straw yield. [2] found that brassinosteroids enhance reproductive development and improve grain yield, thus contributing to a higher harvest index.

Conclusion

The study suggested that treatment T7 (mustard cake + brassinosteroid) in barley variety RD-2503 showed the highest spike length (13.76 cm), spikelet per spike (41.4), test weight (45.76 g), grain yield (4.84 t/ha), straw yield (5.85 t/ha) and harvest index (45.31%) respectively. Moreover, it also showed the highest net return (₹1,11,664) and B:C ratio (5.22) across all other treatments. Thus, it can be concluded that combining mustard cake with brassinosteroid has the maximum potential to maximize yield quality of barley RD-2503.

Acknowledgement

AcknowledgementThe authors are thankful to Department of Agronomy, Himalayan University, Jollang, Itanagar -791111, Arunachal Pradesh, India for providing the necessary facilities for successful conduct of the research study.

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