Efficacy of Foliar Feeding of Brassinosteroid to Improve Growth, Yield and Fruit Quality of Strawberry (Fragaria × Ananassa Duch.) Grown under Subtropical Plain

ABSTRACT

The present investigation was carried out to study the efficacy of foliar feeding of brassinosteroid on growth, yield and quality of strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duch.) cv. Winter Dawn. The experimental finding revealed that the physiological growth in terms of leaf number, specific leaf weight, leaf relative water content and total chlorophyll content in the leaf has increased significantly in all the brassinosteroid treated plant with maximum in the treatment consist of three repeated foliar spray of brassinosteroid at vegetative, flowering and again at fruiting stage, irrespective of their concentration. Fruit yield (31.93 tonnes ha⁻¹) with earliest ripening (within 13.67 days after fruit setting) and biggest fruit size (18.43 cc) was obtained in the treatment of three brassinosteroid spray @ 0.2 ppm each at vegetative, flowering and fruiting stage. Further, total soluble solid (TSS): acid ratio and reducing sugar also was measured maximum (21.71 and 5.20%, respectively) in three repeated spray of brassinosteroid @ 0.2 ppm. Hence, it can be concluded that the foliar feeding of brassinosteroid @ 0.2 ppm each at vegetative, flowering and fruiting stage is the best treatment to increase the yield potentiality of strawberry cv. Winter Dawn with improved fruit quality under subtropical condition of Bihar, India.

KEYWORDS:

• Brassinosteroid
• foliar spray
• fruit quality
• physiological growth
• strawberry
• subtropics
• yield

Acknowledgments

The authors are thankful to the Vice Chancellor, Bihar Agricultural University (BAU), Bhagalpur, Bihar, India, for providing the necessary facilities and the Director of Research, BAU, for his support and critical suggestions. The financial support from Post Graduate Research Contingency, Bihar Agricultural College, BAU, Sabour, is gratefully acknowledged.