tailieunhanh - Effect of gibberellic acid spray on performance of tomato

A pot experiment was performed according to a factorial randomized design at Aligarh to study the effect of 4 levels of gibberellic acid spray (0, 10-8, 10-6 and 10-4 M GA3) on the growth, leaf-NPK content, yield and quality parameters of 2 tomato cultivars (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.), namely Hyb-SC-3 and Hyb-Himalata. | Turk J Biol 30 (2006) 11-16 © TÜB‹TAK Effect of Gibberellic Acid Spray on Performance of Tomato M. Masroor A. KHAN, Champa GAUTAM, Firoz MOHAMMAD, Manzer H. SIDDIQUI, M. NAEEM, M. Nasir KHAN Plant Physiology Section, Department of Botany, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh-202002- INDIA Received: Abstract: A pot experiment was performed according to a factorial randomized design at Aligarh to study the effect of 4 levels of -8 -6 -4 gibberellic acid spray (0, 10 , 10 and 10 M GA3) on the growth, leaf-NPK content, yield and quality parameters of 2 tomato cultivars (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.), namely Hyb-SC-3 and Hyb-Himalata. Irrespective of its concentration, spray of gibberellic acid proved beneficial for most parameters, especially in the case of Hyb-SC-3. Key Words: Tomato cultivars, GA3 spray, growth, leaf-NPK, yield and quality characteristics Introduction Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) is a rich source of lycopene and vitamins. Lycopene may help counteract the harmful effects of substances called “free radicals”, which are thought to contribute to age-related processes and a number of types of cancer, including, but not limited to, those of prostate, lung, stomach, pancreas, breast, cervex, colorectum, mouth and oesophagus (1-6). It is, therefore, highly desirable to explore possible ways and means to enhance the productivity of this important crop employing costeffective and easy to use techniques. In this regard, the effect of spray of gibberellic acid (GA3) at very low concentrations could be exploited beneficially as its natural occurrence in plants in minute quantities is known to control their development. It is an established phytohormone used commercially for improving the productivity and quality of a number of crop plants (710). Moreover, experience at Aligarh with crop plants other than tomato has been highly encouraging (11). It was, therefore, decided to study the efficacy of foliar application of graded low levels of .