Sulphur Treatments Influence the Yield and its Components in Brassica campestris Linn. Cv. Pusa Gold

Abstract

Sulphur dioxide is one of the critical phytotoxic air pollutant in some areas with low rainfall and irrigated agriculture. It is the most significant gaseous pollutant in some countries, based on its mass emissions, impact area and toxicity. Therefore, the present study as a field trial was conducted to assess the effect of sulphur (S) on the yield and its components of Brassica campestris Linn. cv. Pusa Gold. During the present study, five different treatments of sulphur (150, 300, 450, 600 and 750 µg mL-1) were used and compared against the control (0 µg mL-1) at three developmental stages of crop growth. The nutrient sulphur was provided in the form of sodium meta-bisulphite (Na2S2O5). Three replications of each treatment were administered in a randomized block design for the treatments. The following variables were examined at various time intervals: the number of siliquae per plant, the number of seeds per siliquae, the seed yield, the biological yield, the harvest index, the N: S ratio in seeds, the oil content and the oil yield. The effect of the foliar-applied sulphur pollutant on the yield and its components of B. campestris Linn. cv. Pusa Gold revealed that lower concentrations of foliar-applied sulphur were conducive for the growth and yield of the crops, as rapeseed is a crop species with high sulphur demand. Still, with the increase in the concentration of sulphur, a reduction in the number of siliquae per plant, the number of seeds per siliquae, the seed yield, the biological yield, the harvest index, the N: S ratio in seeds, the oil content and the oil yield was noticed.