Bio-efficacy of Supasol and its combination with AOSAS on quality and yield parameters of tomato and Capsicum (Nashik, 2023–24)

Abstract

Foliar biostimulants and silicon-based formulations are gaining importance in improving fruit set, yield, and quality in vegetable crops. The present field investigation evaluated the bio-efficacy of Supasol (fruit-size enhancer) and AOSAS (orthosilicic acid-based silicon formulation), applied individually and in combination, on the performance of tomato (cv. Aryaman) and capsicum under Nashik field conditions during 2023–24. Treatments were imposed in a randomized complete block design with nine treatments (T₁–T₉) and three replications. Foliar applications were given twice at flowering and fruit set stages. Observations on number of fruits per plant, average fruit weight, and yield per plant were subjected to one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s HSD test (α = 0.05). Combined applications of AOSAS + Supasol (T₅–T₈) produced consistently higher fruit number and fruit weight than the untreated control, with maximum numerical increase recorded in T₇. Although statistical significance was not detected at α = 0.05 due to limited replication, the consistent numerical gains suggest a positive synergistic effect between AOSAS and Supasol. The results indicate that integrating foliar silicon and biostimulant technologies can enhance productivity and fruit quality in solanaceous vegetables, warranting further large-scale evaluation across locations.