Effect of pinching of apical buds and chemical sprays on yield and quality of fenugreek seed

Abstract

Among the various means of regulating the source-sink relationship of a plant, pinching of the apical bud and exogenous application of growth regulators and micronutrients has also been reported to be beneficial in enhancing plant productivity. Therefore, with a view to improve the yield and quality of fenugreek seed, anexperiment was conducted atthe Horticultural Research Farm of Amar Singh PG College, Lakhaoti, Bulandshahr, UP, during the rabi season of 2013–14. The plants were pinched at threestagesviz., P1-30 days after sowing (DAS), P2-40 DAS and P3-50 DAS, and three chemicalswere applied viz., C1-Paclobutrazol (50 ppm), C2-GA3 (100 ppm) and C3-Boron (0.1%), along with control. Nine parameters of plant growth, seed yield and quality were studied to assess the effects of the above treatments and their interactions. Results indicated that plants pinched at 30 DAS recorded significantly higher values for number of primary branches per plant (7.2), number of pods per plant (38.8), number of seeds per pod (18.6), test weight (4.3g), germination percentage (89.8%) and seed yield (9.8q/ha), compared to plants pinched at 35 DAS, 40 DAS and without pinching. Among the chemical sprays, application of GA3 (100 ppm) resulted in the production of tallest plants at harvest (57.4 cm), most number of primary branches per plant (7.1), number of pods per plant (39.0), number of seeds per pod (18.0), highest test weight (4.3g), germination percentage (90.3%) and seed yield (9.4q/ha), compared to other chemicals and control. While studying the interaction effects, pinching at 30 DAS along withapplication of GA3 (100 ppm) came out to be the best combination, which resulted in the production of maximum number of productive branches per plant (7.3), number of pods per plant (41.1), number of seeds per pod (18.8), highest test weight (4.4g), germination percentage (91.7%) and seed yield (10.3q/ha). Thus, it is evident from the present study that the yield and quality of fenugreek seed could be increased by pinching at early stage (30 DAS), followed by foliar spray of GA3 (100 ppm) at 50% flowering stage.