Influence of Foliar Application of 19:19:19 and Mono-Potassium Phosphate on Growth and Yield of Green Gram (Vigna radiata L.)

Aims: Foliar application or foliar nutrition is a technique of feeding plants by applying liquid fertilizer directly to their leaves. Water soluble fertilizers (19:19:19 and mono potassium phasphate) have been introduced exclusively for foliar feeding and fertilization. There is very little information about the foliar application of water soluble fertilizers. There is need for more research in this field. Therefore, foliar nutrition is being recognized as an important method of fertilization in modern agriculture. The current study aimed to study the effect of foliar application of inorganic sources of nutrients for exploiting genetic potential of the crop for supplementing the part of nutrient requirements at critical stages.

Methodology: A field experiment was conducted during late kharif 2019 on sandy loam soils at College of Agriculture, Keladi Shivappa Nayaka University of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences, Shivamogga, Karnataka, to study the effect of foliar application of water soluble fertilizers on growth and yield of green gram (Vigna radiata L.). The experiment was laid out in a Randomized Complete Block Design comprising of 3 replications and 13 treatment combinations consisting of three water soluble fertilizers along with package of practice (viz., 2 % DAP, 1 % 19:19:19, 2 % 19:19:19, 1 % mono-potassium phosphate, 2 % mono-potassium phosphate, 1 % 19:19:19 + 1 % mono-potassium phosphate). All water soluble fertilizers were given as foliar spray at two crop growth stages (30 and 45 DAS).

Results: Foliar application of monopotassium phosphate and 19:19:19 each @ 1 per cent at 30 and 45 DAS along with package of practice recorded significantly higher plant height (56.04 cm), number of leaves plant-1 (8.46), leaf area (5.37 dm2 plant-1), total dry matter production (22.16 g plant-1), number of pods plant-1 (22.10), number of seeds plant-1 (12.65), pod length (8.92 cm), seed yield (1038.82 kg ha-1) and haulm yield (1675.28 kg ha-1), thereby achieved yield increment of 25.07 per cent over package of practice and 46.85 per cent over farmers practice as compared to the other treatments.

Conclusion: Foliar application of monopotassium phosphate and 19:19:19 each at 1 per cent at 30 and 45 DAS along with package of practice in late kharif found ideal for achieving higher yield potentiality in green gram.