Impact of Foliar Spray of Nutrients and Plant Growth Regulators on Growth and Yield Parameters of Black Gram (Vigna mungo L.)

Abstract

Black gram (Vigna mungo L.) is an important short-duration pulse crop widely cultivated in India, but its productivity is often constrained by poor seed germination, nutrient deficiencies, and sub-optimal crop management practices. This research aimed to evaluate various techniques to enhance seed set and overall growth performance in black gram. The experiment was conducted at the Department of Crop Improvement, Kumaraguru Institute of Agriculture, during May, 2025 to July 2025, using a Randomized Block Design (RBD) with five treatments—T1: Urea (2%), T2: DAP (2%), T3: Gibberellic acid (GA₃), T4: Kinetin, and T5: Control—with four replications. Observations recorded included plant height, leaf length, leaf width, number of pods per plant, chlorophyll content, and yield per plant. Results revealed that urea application significantly enhanced vegetative growth parameters, with the highest plant height (58.75 cm) and leaf length (13.3 cm), while DAP and GA₃ treatments produced superior reproductive performance, registering maximum pods per plant (50) and highest yield (5.3 kg), respectively. Kinetin notably improved chlorophyll content (42.5 µmol m⁻²), indicating delayed senescence. The control treatment consistently recorded lower growth, physiological, and yield parameters. The study concludes that integrating foliar nutrient sprays and plant growth regulators—particularly GA₃, urea, and DAP effectively enhances seed set, growth, and productivity in black gram, providing a viable strategy for improving pulse yield under field conditions.