Effect of micronutrients on growth and quality of banana (Musa spp.) cv. Karpooravalli (ABB)

Introduction

Banana (Musa spp.) belongs to the family Musaceae, which is one of the most important tropical and subtropical fruit crop grown in India. The edible banana is originated in hot tropical regions of South-East Asia. It is also called as 'Kalpataru', Apple of paradise, Plant of virtue, Adam's fig and Tree of wisdom. India contributes 26.45 percent of total world production and area of 9.65 lakh hectares among the total area under fruit crops in India with a production of 349.08 lakh tonnes during 2022-2023 (Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer Welfare). The area under banana cultivation in Tamil Nadu is 1.02 lakh hectares with a production of 42.37 lakh tonnes during 2022-2023. Karpooravalli, meaning 'scented flower', is a popular variety of banana largely grown in South India. These have unique ash-coated golden yellow skin, delicious taste and pleasant aroma. The high fiber content in bananas helps regulate blood sugar levels, making it a good option for those with diabetes. Balanced nutrition is very important for proper growth, high yield and quality. Banana is a high nutrient requiring crop. Micronutrients exist in very small amounts in both soil and plants, but their role is essential for the crop growth and equally important as primary and secondary nutrients. The role of micronutrients for production of quality traits have been already reported by several scientists. Zinc aids in regulating plant growth hormone and enzyme system, necessary for carbohydrate and starch formation, iron (Fe) promotes formation of chlorophyll pigment, which acts as an oxygen carrier involving cell division and growth and Boron (B) is necessary for translocation of sugars and promotes fruit maturity (Premalatha et al., 2019) [1] . Micronutrient deficiencies in soil and crops have become prevalent in recent years due to several factors like intensive cropping, loss of top soil, soil erosion and leaching (Singh et al., 2007) [2] . To meet the required micronutrients demand, foliar application of micronutrient is necessary to get more yield. Keeping this in view, the present investigation was carried out to study the effect of micronutrients on growth, yield and quality of banana (Musa spp.) cv. Karpooravalli (ABB).

Results and discussion

Growth characters

The results of the experiment are presented in Table 1 andTable 2. The result revealed that the combined foliar application of ZnSO 4 @ 0.75 % + Borax @ 0.75 % + FeSO 4 @ 0.75% on 60, 90 and 120 DAP along with 25 t ha -1 FYM and RDF (110:35:330 NPK g plant -1 ) (T 13 ) recorded the highest pseudostem height (327.19 cm), pseudostem girth (72.49 cm), total number of leaves plant -1 (33.60), leaf area (14.11 m 2 ) and shorter crop duration (376.10 days). While the least value for pseudostem height (254.36 cm), pseudostem girth (58.96 cm), total number of leaves plant -1 (21.54), leaf area (10.28 m 2 ) and longer crop duration (431.27 days) were recorded in control (T 1 ). It may be due to increased photosynthetic rate and carbohydrate accumulation as a result of sufficient level of micronutrients in the plant system which helped for better plant growth (Ronbinson and Nel, 1988) [3] .

Shorter crop duration may be attributed to the faster increase in production of leaves which might have helped to synthesize more photo-synthates, which in turn influenced earlier flowering stimulus as suggested by Murray (1960) [4] .

Quality characters

The results of the experiment are presented in Table 2. The quality parameters like finger length (14.08 cm), finger girth (10.22 cm), finger volume (130.28 cm 3 ), finger weight (113.12 g), pulp weight (89.20 g), peel weight (24.48 g), pulp:peel ratio (3.64), TSS (23.58ºBrix), total sugar content (23.67 per cent), reducing sugar content (19.21 per cent), non-reducing sugar content (4.46 per cent), ascorbic acid content (10.13 mg 100 g -1

) were maximum, minimum acidity content (0.22 per cent) and moisture content (68.32 per cent ) were recorded in combined foliar application of ZnSO 4 @ 0.75 % + Borax @ 0.75 % + FeSO 4 @ 0.75 % on 60, 90 and 120 DAP along with 25 t ha -1 FYM and RDF (110:35:330 NPK g plant -1 ) (T 13 ). While the least value for finger length (8.31 cm), finger girth (7.08 cm), finger volume (91.67 cm 3 ), finger weight (70.42 g), pulp weight (51.25 g), peel weight (19.35 g), pulp:peel ratio (2.64), TSS (18.35ºBrix), reducing sugar content (17.88 per cent), non-reducing sugar content (3.12 per cent), total sugar content (21.02 per cent), ascorbic acid (5.27 mg 100 g -1 ), highest acidity content (0.42 per cent) and moisture content (75.21 per cent ) were recorded in T 1 (Control). Jagadeeswari et al. (2018) [5] reported that foliar application of banana special micronutrient mixture during fruit development stage resulted in increased banana productivity. The multi-micronutrient mixture comprised of Zn and B and other micronutrients have an important role in sugar metabolism. This is due to its action on converting complex substances into simple ones, which enhances the metabolic activity in fruits and it results in increased total sugar of fruit. Similar findings were reported by Paul et al. (2015) [6] in banana cv. Nendran banana, Yadlod et al. (2008) [7] in banana cv. Shrimanti.

Conclusion

Based on the present investigation it could be concluded that combined foliar application of ZnSO 4 @ 0.75 % + Borax @ 0.75 % + FeSO 4 @ 0.75 % on 60, 90 and 120 DAP along with 25 t ha -1 FYM and RDF (110:35:330 NPK g plant -1 ) significantly enhancing the growth and quality of banana cv. Karpooravalli (ABB).

References

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2. Singh JK, Prasad J, Singh HK. Effect of micronutrients and plant growth regulators on yield and physic-chemical characteristics of aonla fruits in cv. Narendra Aonla-10. Indian Journal of Horticulture. 2007;64(2):216-218.
3. Robinson JC, Nel DJ. Plant density studies with banana in a subtropical climate-I, Vegetative morphology, phenology and plantation microclimate. Journal of Horticultural Science. 1988;63:303313.
4. Murray DB. The effect of deficiencies of the major nutrients on growth and leaf analysis of banana. Tropical Agriculture Trinidad and Tobago. 1960;37:97-106.
5. Jegadeeswari D, Dheebakaran GA, Paul Pandi VK. Foliar application of micronutrients for enhancing productivity of banana under irrigated conditions through farmer's participatory approach. International Journal of Chemical Studies. 2018;6(5):1094-1097.
6. Paul AA, Nair CSJ. Effect of foliar application of nutrients on quality characters of banana (Musa AAB) Nendran. Internationl Journal of Applied Pure Science and Agriculture. 2015:101-104.
7. Yadlod SS, Kadam BA. Effect of plant growth regulators and micronutrients on growth, yield and storage life of banana (Musa sp.) cv. Shrimanti. Asian Journal of Horticulture. 2008b;3(2):409411. How to cite this article: Lavanya R. Effect of micronutrients on growth and quality of banana (Musa spp.) cv. Karpooravalli (ABB). International Journal of Horticulture and Food Science. 2026;8(9):120-122. doi: https://www.doi.org/10.33545/2663106