Harvesting Techniques and Application of Bio-stimulants on Growth and Leaf Yield of Curry Leaf (<i>Murraya koenigii</i> Spreng.)

Abstract

A field experiment on effect of harvesting techniques and application of bio-stimulants on growth and yield of curry leaf was conducted at Department of Spices and Plantation Crops, Horticultural College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Periyakulam during 2015. The experiment was laid out in split-split design consisting of three factors, viz., factor – I pruning levels (L1 – 15 cm and L2 – 30 cm), factor – II harvest intervals (H1 – 2 months harvest interval and H2 – 3 months harvest interval) and factor –III foliar applications (N1 – 0.25 per cent ZnSO4, N2 – 0.25 per cent FeSO4, N3 – 2 per cent seaweed extract and N4 – 0.3 per cent humic acid) constituting sixteen treatment combinations. The results have shown that among the harvesting techniques and bio-stimulants the highest growth characters viz., plant height (127.84 and 124.78 cm at first and second harvest), number of secondary branches (7.01 and 13.67 at first and second harvest), leaflet length (7.21 and 7.26 cm at first and second harvest) and leaflet width (3.94 and 3.98 cm at first and second harvest). It was also observed that yield characters viz., leaf yield per plant (643.50 and 714.21 g at first and second harvest) and leaf yield per hectare (4468.46 and 4959.47 kg at first and second harvest).