Abstract

                                Vasicine is a quinazoline alkaloid present in Adulsa. An experiment wasconducted to assess the impact of vasicine on growth, photosynthesis andyield of tomato under pot culture. Vasicine was applied as soil applicationin the form of vigo @ 4 kg acre-1 (50% as basal and 50% at 15 days aftertransplanting), and as foliar application in the form vigo @ 2 mL L-1 at 15 and30 DAT and both combined soil and foliar application. Combined applicationof vasicine in the form of vigo through soil and foliar spray increased leafarea by 16.9% and soluble protein by 24.02% over control. This is on parwith foliar application of vigo @ 2 mL L-1 twice at 15 and 30 days aftertransplanting. Tallest plant (116.56 cm) and longest root length (73.25 cm)were observed in combined soil and foliar application of vasicine. Combinedapplication recorded higher total chlorophyll content (1.34 mg g-1) followed byfoliar application (1.18 mg g-1) compared to control (1.09 mg g-1). Combinedapplication of vasicine through soil and foliar recorded the highest fruit yield of26.23 t ha-1 which is on par with foliar spray of vigo @ 2 mL L-1 (25.68 t ha-1)and least recorded in control (21.52 t ha-1). Vasicine might compose of growthhormones like auxin, gibberellins and cytokinin, which are playing a majorrole in plant growth and metabolism. Hence, the new biostimulant vasicineshowed its positive impact on growth and yield in tomato.

Key words : Vasicine; Tomato; Leaf area; Chlorophyll; Soluble protein; Yield