Abstract

                                A field experiment was conducted to find out the response of foliar application of micronutrients on growth, yield and economics of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) at collage orchard, Department of Vegetable Crops, HC & RI, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore. The treatments consisted of boric acid @100 ppm, ZnSo4 @ 100 ppm, ammonium molybdate @ 50 ppm, copper sulphate @ 100 ppm, ferrous sulphate @ 100 ppm, manganese sulphate @ 100 ppm, mixture of all, mixture of all without B, mixture of all without Zn, mixture of all without Mo, mixture of all without Cu, mixture of all without Fe, mixture of all without Mn, commercial formulation (Multiplex) @ 4 ml/lit and control (without spray). The experiment was laid out in a randomized block design with three replications. All the micronutrients were sprayed individually and in combinations on tomato in three sprays at an interval of 10 days starting from 40 days after transplanting. The results revealed that spraying of mixture of all micronutrients (T7 ) 3 times at an interval of 10 days starting from 40 days after transplanting resulted in the highest plant height (95.7 cm), number of fruits per plant (46.4), fruit weight (61.9 g), fruit yield per plot (63.5 kg), yield/ha (564.1 q) and benefit cost ratio (3.04) followed by the spray of commercial formulation (Multiplex).

Key words : Tomato, Micronutrients, Foliar application, Yield, Economics