Effect of Plant Growth Regulators on the Morpho-physiological and Physico-chemical Characters of Strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Dutch.)
Suvalaxmi Palei *
Faculty of Agriculture, Sri Sri University, Cuttack, Odisha, India.
Mandakini Kabi
Faculty of Agriculture, Sri Sri University, Cuttack, Odisha, India.
Meenakshi Badu
Faculty of Agriculture, Sri Sri University, Cuttack, Odisha, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
In the coastal region of Odisha, an experiment was carried out to investigate the effects of several plant growth regulators, such as auxin, cytokinin, and gibberellin on the growth, yield, and quality characteristics of strawberries. Different concentration of napthyl acetic acid (NAA), gibberellic acid (GA3) and benzyl amino purine (BAP) were taken to evaluate the changes on morpho-physiological and physico-chemical characteristics of strawberry. The investigation's findings showed that strawberry plants respond favourably to the administration of plant growth regulators. Treatment GA3 at 100 ppm produced best results on generation of runners and vegetative growth. Application of NAA@ 100 ppm was found to increase various yield-attributing characteristics, such as the number of flowers, fruits per plant, the number of days taken for fruit development, and the number of days taken for the first fruiting. Treatment 75 ppm NAA produced better physico-chemical characteristics, such as total soluble solid, specific gravity, juice percentage, and length to diameter ratio of the fruits. However, GA3 75 ppm had a greater ascorbic acid concentration and acidity %.
Keywords: Fruit quality, plant growth regulators, strawberry, yield