Abstract

Field experiments were conducted at millet breeding farm of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University,Coimbatore (11o29”N latitude and 77o 08” E longitude at an altitude of 256 MSL), India during Kharif 2012, 2013 and 2014 in split plot design. The experiment comprised of twelve treatment combinations with four plant growth regulators (salicylic acid @ 100 mg/l, ethrel @ 200 mg/l, cycocel @ 500 mg/l and water spray) in main plots and three stages of application (at flower initiation, pod initiation and flower + pod initiation) in sub plot replicated thrice. Foliar spray of salicylic acid@ 100 mg/l was significantly higher Pods per plant than cycocel @ 500 mg/l, ethrel @ 200 mg/l and water spray. Salicylic acid 100 mg/l recorded significantly higher seed yield and but was found to statistically on par with cycocel @ 100 mg/l. Pods per plant with application of plant regulators at flower + pod initiation stages were significantly higher than application either at flower or pod initiation. Application of growth regulators at flower and pod initiation gave significantly higher seed yield than flower and pod alone. The pooled mean revealed that growth regulators at flower + pod initiation stages gave 16.07 % and 12.50 % higher yield than spraying growth regulators either at flower initiation or pod initiation stage alone.

Keywords: Agronomic performance, Cycocel, Ethrel, Salicylic acid, Soybean