Effect of bio-stimulants and plant growth regulators on the growth and quality of green chilli (Capsicum annuum L.)

Abstract

This present research was carried out on “Effect of bio-stimulants and plant growth regulators on the growth, yield and quality of green chilli (Capsicum annuum L.)” at the Instructional Farm, Faculty of Horticulture, UBKV, Pundibari, Coochbehar during 2022-2023. The experiment was laid out in factorial RBD with 27 different treatment combinations, in which factor A was included with 9 different doses of humic acid and seaweed extract as soil application and factor B was included with 3 different PGRs (NAA, GA3 and Triacontanol) with different concentrations as foliar spray. This study was chosen to identify which of those biostimulants and PGRs gave the best results in terms of growth of green chilli. Among the bio-stimulant treatments, A3 [Mobicel – H (80% Humic acid) @ 15 kg/ha] showed the maximum plant height (40.50 cm) and A5 [Biovita Granules (8% Seaweed Extract) at 8 kg/ha] resulted in an increase in the no. of primary branches (8.84) and plant spread (50.35 cm) respectively at 90 DAT. On the other hand, maximum chlorophyll-a content (243.76 mg/100g) and total chlorophyll (a+b) content (208.90 mg/100g) of mature leaves were found in the treatment A3 (Mobicel – H (80% Humic acid) @ 15 kg/ha) and maximum chlorophyll-a content (67.76) and ascorbic acid content (100.72 mg/100g) were found in the treatment A5 (Biovita granules (8% Seaweed extract) @ 8 kg/ha).