Effect of Fertilizer Doses on Phenological Parameters of Grafted Tomato Plants

Author: Mahendra Prasad Das, Dipika Sahoo, Naresh Ponnam, G.C. Acharya, Pradyumna Tripathy, G.S. Sahu, G. Sangeetha, Bandita Jena, Harapriya Sethy and Anil Kumar Adamala

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Abstract

The experiment was conducted at Central Horticultural Experiment Station, ICAR- IIHR, Aiginia, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India during kharif seasons of 2018 in collaboration with Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology, Bhubaneswar to study the plant height, number of branches per plant and days taken to 50 % flowering among grafted root stock and Arka Rakshak non-grafted tomato plant. As there is little information’s available regarding the effect of root stock with different recommended fertilizer doses with respect to phenological parameters of the grafted tomato plants so, the experiment was conducted with cultivated Utkal Anushree and wild species Solanum torvum of brinjal and Arka Rakshak tomato hybrid as both scion and non-grafted control plant with 12 treatment combination (different RDFs and absolute control) following statistical design FRBD with three replications in field condition to find out better root stock with respect to vegetative and flowering parameter. The grafted Solanum torvum root stock recorded highest plant height (91.92 cm) and number of branches per plant (16.86) than the non-grafted Arka Rakshak tomato hybrids. Whereas non-grafted Arka Rakshak took lowest number of days (33.20 days) to 50 % flowering while the grafted root stocks of Solanum torvum (37.50 days) and Utkal Anushree (38.53 days) took highest number of days to 50 % flowering. Solanum torvum and Utkal Anushree root stock performed better at 75 % RDF as compared to 100 % RDFs, there was very little difference in plant height, number of branches and days taken to 50% flowering in comparison between 100 % and 75 % RDFs.

Keywords

Grafting, Rootstock, Scion, Solanum torvum, RDF, Phenological parameters

Conclusion

The grafted Solanum torvum and Utkal Anushree root stock recorded highest plant height and number of branches per plant than the non-grafted Arka Rakshak tomato hybrids. Among recommended fertiliser doses 100 % RDF performed highest plant height and was at par with 75% RDF. Whereas, non-grafted Arka Rakshak took lowest days (33.20 days) to 50% flowering while the grafted root stocks of Solanum torvum (37.50 days) and Utkal Anushree (38.53 days) took highest number of days for 50 % flowering. However, the non-fertilized plants may experience stress due to the absence of nutrients in vegetative growth stage and this stress might have helped them to enter reproductive growth phase leading to earlier flowering. Among Solanum torvum and Utkal Anushree root stocks Solanum torvum is earlier in flowering than Utkal Anushree root stocks when grafted with Arka Rakshak tomato. Solanum torvum and Utkal Anushree root stocks performed better at 75 % RDF compared to 100 % RDFs., there was very little difference in plant height, number of branches and days taken to reach 50% flowering between 100 % and 75 % RDFs. This led to the conclusion that Solanum torvum with 75 % can be recommended for commercial cultivation, but its yield potential should be assessed. However, since Solanum torvum is a wild rootstock and availability of seeds may be a problem, in that case, Utkal Anushree, released by OUAT, can be recommended with 75% RDF for better vegetative growth of tomatoes.

References

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How to cite this article

Mahendra Prasad Das, Dipika Sahoo, Naresh Ponnam, G.C. Acharya, Pradyumna Tripathy, G.S. Sahu, G. Sangeetha, Bandita Jena, Harapriya Sethy and Anil Kumar Adamala (2022). Effect of Fertilizer Doses on Phenological Parameters of Grafted Tomato Plants. Biological Forum – An International Journal, 14(4): 1355-1359.