Impact of foliar application of seaweed saps on yield, nodulation and nutritional quality in green gram (<italic>Vigna radiata</italic> L)

Abstract

Seaweeds are marine macro algae, which form an important component of the marine living resources of the world. To evaluate the efficiency of seaweed (<italic>Kappaphycus</italic> and <italic>Gracilaria</italic>) saps on growth, yield and nutrition of <italic>Vigna radiata</italic>, an experiment was conducted during <italic>spring</italic> 2012 under field conditions. The ten treatments comprised two seaweed saps (K-sap & G-sap), four concentrations of each sap (2.5, 5, 10 and 15%), 7.5% of K-sap + 50% RDF (recommended dose of fertilizers) and control. The highest grain yield of 557 kg ha<sup>−1</sup> was harnessed due to two foliar applications of 10% K-sap + RDF. Increase in yield due to K-sap ranged between 29.32 to 33.81% while due to G-sap it was 25.74 to 26.15%. Foliar application of K-sap influenced the number and dry weight of root nodules at flowering. Application of seaweed saps also enhanced quality of grains in terms of protein, P and K content.