Study on the effect of foliar application of zinc and boron on growth and yield of Tomato (Solanum lycopersicon L.) NS 4266 under insect proof net house

Introduction

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicon L.) belongs to the Solanaceae family, and the world's second most important vegetable crop, following potatoes. It is a dicotyledonous annual herb from the Solanaceae family, with diploid chromosomes 2n = 2x = 24. Tomatoes are also referred to as "poor man's orange" and "wolf apple" (Dhall and Singh, 2013) [4] . Tomato originated in Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador, was later domesticated in Mexico, and spread to Europe in 1554 and other parts of the world during the 16th century. It gained popularity in India over the last five decades (Vavilov, 1951) [18] . Tomato is grown widely throughout the world and is considered one of the most important vegetable crops. In 2023, global tomato production reached around 192 million tonnes, with China, India, Turkey, the United States, and Italy emerging as the leading producers. In India, tomato production increased from 20.43 million tonnes in 2022-23 to 21.32 million tonnes in 2023-24, and 20.60 million tonnes in 2024-25 as reported by the Press Information Bureau (PIB, 2025) [13] . Tomato fruit has the following nutrients for every 100 grams of fruit pulp: 93.1 grams of water, 1.9 g. of protein, 0.1 g of fat, 3.6 g of carbohydrates, 0.6 g of mineral matter, 20 mg of Ca, 36mg of P, 0.8 mg of Fe, 320 IU vita. A, 2.27 mg thiamine, 0.4 mg nicotinic acid, 0.01 mg riboflavin, and 31 mg vita. C Additionally, it contains vitamin K, folic acid, pantothenic acid, biotin, and vita. E (Aykroyd et al., 1963) [2] . Boron is an important micronutrient needed for better growth, higher yield, and improved quality of crops (Dale and Krystyna, 1998) [3] . It helps in cell wall formation, lignification, metabolism of RNA, carbohydrates, phenolic compounds, IAA, respiration, and maintaining cell membrane stability (Parr and Loughman, 1983) [10] . Boron also improves pollen germination, pollen tube growth, and fruit setting, while supporting calcium metabolism in plants (Yamaguchi et al., 1986) [19] . Deficiency of boron can cause wilting, leaf fall, and reduction in yield and quality of tomato crops (Zekri and Obreza, 2003; Imtiaz et al., 2010) [20] . Boron can be supplied through soil and foliar application during the reproductive stage to enhance plant growth and productivity (Sajid, 2009) [14] . Zinc (Zn) is an important micronutrient that helps plants grow properly by supporting the production of tryptophan, which is needed for the synthesis of IAA, a growth-promoting hormone (Mallick and Muthukrishnan, 1980) [8] . It also plays a role in the formation of carbonic anhydrase, an enzyme involved in CO₂ transport during photosynthesis (Alloway, 2008) [1] . Zinc deficiency leads to poor plant growth, shorter internodes, chlorotic spots on older leaves, curling of leaf margins, and abnormal development (Passam et al., 2007) [11] . This deficiency may occur because of low zinc availability in soil or due to interactions with nutrients like Ca, Mn, Fe, P, and K, along with certain soil conditions (Srivastava and Singh, 2003) [16] . Since zinc movement in soil is limited, foliar application is generally more effective than soil application for correcting zinc deficiency (Swietlik, 2002) [17] .

Materials and Methods

Experimental site and location:

The present trial entitled "Study on the effect of foliar application of zinc and boron on growth, yield and quality of tomato (Solanum lycopersicon L.) NS 4266 under insect proof net house'' was in the Vegetable Research Farm, Department of Vegetable Science, of Chandra Shekhar Azad University of Agricultural and Technology, Kanpur, during the Rabi season 2024-2025. Kanpur is situated in the Central Plain Zone of Uttar Pradesh, but the ICAR's agroclimatic zones place it in the Upper Gangetic Plain Zone. It is located 125.91 meters above mean sea level (MSL). It is located geographically at altitude range between 25.28° to 28.50° North and longitude range between 79.31° to 84.34° East.

Crop details and cultural practices: tomato variety-

Ramdhari 4266 (NS 4266) is an indeterminate F1 hybrid tomato variety developed by 'Namdhari seeds company'. These variety is popular for commercial farming and suitable for growing in polyhouse at kharif and rabi both seasons. Seeds were sown in nursery bed on 13 November 2024, and 27 days old seedlings were transplanted in 10 December 2024, under insect proof net house. The crop seedling transplanted at spacing of 60 × 60 cm in plots size measuring 3.9 × 1.0 m 2 , and seed rate is 150gm/ha. All recommended agronomic practices, including irrigation, training, pruning and nutrient application was applied in 30, 45 and 60 DAT, were followed throughout the crop seasons.

Experimental design and treatment details:

The experiment was conducted in Randomized Block Design (RBD) with 3 replication and 9 treatments with the combination of zinc and boron various concentration (0.0%, 0.1% and 0.2%) of treatments viz. T 1 -Zn 0.0%+ B 0.0%, T 2 -Zn 0.0%+ B 0.1%, T 3 -Zn 0.0%+ B 0.2%, T 4 -Zn 0.1%+ B 0.0%, T 5 -Zn 0.1%+ B 0.1%, T 6 -Zn 0.1%+ B 0.2%, T 7 -Zn 0.2%+ B 0.0%, T 8 -Zn 0.2%+ B0.1% and T 9 -Zn 0.2%+ B 0.2%.

Observation Recorded

Growth and yield parameter: Among the growth and yield following parameter were observed viz. plant height (cm) at 45, 90 and 120 DAT, plant stem girth (mm) at 45, 90 and 120 DAT, days of first flowering initiations, average fruit weight (gm) at 2 nd picking, number of fruits per plant, number of clusters per plants, fruit diameter (centimetre) polar and equatorial at 2 nd picking, days of last fruit harvesting (days), fruit yield per plant (Kg), fruit yield per plot (Kg), and fruit yield/1000 m 2 (quintal).

Results and Discussion

The plant height is measured by wooden stick meter. These vegetative parameters were significantly influenced by the foliar application of zinc and boron. The plant height observed at 45, 90 and 120 DAT, T 9 -zinc @ 0.2%+ boron @ 0.2 % had the highest plant height with (142.26, 243.04 and 345.04 cm), followed by T 6 -zinc @ 0.1%+ borax @ 0.2 % (136.77, 234.22 and 336.5 cm), T 8 -Zn @0.2%+ B @0.1% (131.25, 225.4 and 327.72 cm), T 5 -Zn @ 0.1%+ B @ 0.1% (125.79, 216.58 and 319.42 cm) and T 7 -zinc sulphate @ 0.2 % (120.3, 207.76 and 310.88 cm) treatments. all of the remaining treatments were found to be beneficial in raising plant height is significantly better than the control. Treatments with T 1 -(control) show the minimum plant height is 98.34, 172.48 and 276.72 cm. these treatments are at par T 6 and T 8 , similar research has been also reported by Haque et al. (2011) [5] and Naga et al. (2013) [9] . The plant stem girth was significantly influenced by zinc and boron application. The stem girth was observed at 45, 90 and120 DAT, T 9 -zinc @ 0.2%+ boron @ 0.2 % (12.33, 22.42 and 33.24 mm) maximum which was significantly superior over all treatments, followed T 6 -zinc @0.1%+ borax @0.2 % (11.91, 21.67 and 32.36 mm), T 8 -Zn @0.2%+ B @0.1% (11.51, 20.90 and 31.48 mm), and T 5 -zinc @ 0.1% + boron @ 0.1 % (11.11, 20.13 and 30.60 mm) by while the minimum stem girth observed in T 1 -zinc @0.0% +boron @0.0% (Control) with 9.10, 16.28 and 26.2 mm. Some treatments are at par T 6 and T 8 similar research has been also reported by Kumari et al. (2020) [7] . After a month of transplanting when earlier flowering initiations was observed in T 9 -zinc @ 0.2%+ boron @ 0.2 % (31.78 days) which was some treatments is followed by T 6 -zinc @0.1%+ borax @0.2 % (32.22 days), T 8 -Zinc @0.2%+ Boron @0.1% (32.66 days), T 5 -Zinc @0.1%+ Boron @0.1% (33.10 days) and T 7 -zinc @ 0.2 % + boron @ 0.0% (33.54 days). The late flowering was observed in treatment T 1 -(control) Zinc @0.0%+ Boron @0.0% (35.33 days). The combined application of zinc and boron further enhanced floral initiation and reduced days to flowering in tomato. Similar research has been observed by Mallick and Muthukrishnan (1980) [8] . Fruit diameter both polar and equatorial were observed in 115 DAT at 2 nd fruit picking stage. T 9 -zinc sulphate @ 0.2% + borax @ 0.2 % (4.38 cm and 6.22cm) had the highest polar & equatorial diameter respectively, followed by T 6 -zinc sulphate @ 0.1% + Borax @ 0.2 % (4.03 cm & 6.00 cm), T 8 -zinc sulphate @ 0.2% + borax @ 0.1 % (3.80 cm & 5.83cm), T 5 -zinc sulphate @ 0.1% + borax @ 0.1 % (3.68 cm & 5.74cm), and T 7 -zinc sulphate @ 0.2 % + borax @ 0.0% (3.50 cm & 5.61cm). The smallest polar diameter was found in T 1 -Control (3.15 cm & 5.10cm) polar and equatorial diameter respectively. Kumar et al. (2012) [6] .

After 120 DAT number of cluster per plant was observed and it was found the maximum number of clusters per plant (10.35) was recorded from the plants sprayed with T 9 -zinc sulphate @ 0.2% + borax @ 0.2 %, followed by T 6 -zinc sulphate @ 0.1% + Borax @ 0.2 % with 10.14, T 8 -zinc sulphate @ 0.2% + borax @ 0.1 % with 10.00 and T 5 -zinc sulphate @ 0.1% + borax @ 0.1 % with 9.82. All the remaining treatments were found to be effective in increasing the number of clusters per plant and were significantly superior over control. The minimum number of clusters per plant 8.16 was found under the treatment T 1 -(control). Similar research has been in Paithankar et al.

After 115 DAT number fruits per plant in every was observed and found in T 9 -zinc sulphate @ 0.2% + borax @ 0.2 % produced the most fruits per plant (102.06), followed by T 6 -zinc sulphate @ 0.1% + Borax @ 0.2 % (99.67), T 8 -zinc sulphate @ 0.2% + borax @ 0.1 % (98.26), T 5 -zinc sulphate @ 0.1% + borax @ 0.1 % (96.04), T 7 -zinc sulphate @ 0.2 % + borax @ 0.0% (94.44), T 3 -borax @ 0.2 % (93.83), T 2 -borax @0.1% (92.21), and T 4zinc sulphate @ 0.1% (92.10). The T 1 -Control group produced the lowest fruits per plant (89.07) of compared to other treatments. Similar results were reported by Mallick and Muthukrishnan (1980) [8] . At the time of second fruit picking stage observed the average fruit weight. It was found highest in treatment T 9 (zinc sulphate @ 0.2% + borax @ 0.2%) with 108.06 g, followed by T 6 (105.66 g), T 8 (103.11 g), T 5 (100.33 g), and T 7 (98.38 g), while the lowest fruit weight was observed in the control T 1 (90.56 g).

Fruit yield/plant(kg), fruit yield/ plot(kg) and fruit yield/1000m 2 (Quintal): After 115 DAT fruit yield/plant (kg), fruit yield/ plot (kg) and fruit yield/1000m 2 was found highest treatment T 9 -zinc sulphate @ 0.2% + borax @ 0.2 % (9.70 kg, 116.40kg & 269.15 q.) produced the highest yield respectively, followed by T 6 -zinc sulphate @ 0.1% + Borax @ 0.2 % (9.30 kg, 111.60kg, & 258.26 q.), T 8 -zinc sulphate @ 0.2% + borax @ 0.1 % (8.90 kg, 106.40 kg & 247.15 q.), T 5 -zinc sulphate @ 0.1% + borax @ 0.1 % (8.82 kg, 105.84 kg & 244.93 q.), and T 7 -zinc sulphate @ 0.2 % + borax @ 0.0% (8.60 kg, 103.20 kg & 238.82 q.). The lowest fruit output per plant was achieved in T 1 -Control (7.80 kg, 93.60kg &216.60 q.) respectively, which was significantly lower than all other treatments. Similar results were reported by Singh et al. (2022) [15] . The effect clearly indicate that micronutrient application had a positive impact on the cost-benefit ratio also rose markedly from 1:2.73 in the T 1 control to 1:3.45 in T 9 , showing that the additional investment was highly economical. Among treatments, T 6 (1:3.29) performed best after T 9 , followed by T 8 (1:3.14) and T 5 (1:3.19), indicating that combined micronutrient sprays consistently enhanced economic efficiency over the control.

Conclusion

The result show that enhanced the vegetative growth, yield and parameters were obtained with foliar applications of various dosages of zinc sulphate and borax. The most effective combination is achieving maximum growth and yield of number T 9 (zinc sulphate @ 0.2% + borax @ 0.2 %) treatment and after that followed T 6 (zinc sulphate @ 0.1% + Borax @ 0.2 %) and the lowest result observed in treatment T 1 (water spray).

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