Effect of plant growth regulators on flowering and fruit yield of cucumber (Cucumis sativus cv. Malini) in Chitwan, Nepal

Abstract

An experiment was done at Rambagh, Chitwan during March to May 2018 with the objective to evaluate the effect of plant growth regulators on growth, flowering and yield of cucumber (Cucumis sativus.) cv. Malini. The experiment consisted of nine treatments viz., control (no spray), silver nitrate 250 ppm spray, ethephon 250 ppm spray, gibberellic acid (GA3) 300 ppm spray, napthalene acetic acid (NAA) 50 ppm spray, silver nitrate 500 ppm spray, ethephon 250 ppm spray, gibberellic acid (GA3) 500 ppm spry, and napthalene acetic acid (NAA) 100 ppm spray; each treatment was replicated thrice. Findings revealed that use of plant growth regulators significantly affected growth, flowering and fruit yield of cucumber. The highest plant height was measured for GA3 300 ppm spray whereas lowest plant height was measured for NAA 100 ppm spray. Likewise, GA3 300 ppm spray had produced highest number of lateral branches. On the other hand, highest number of male flower was recorded in control, but highest number of female flower was recorded for ethephon 250 ppm spray whereas it was lowest for control (14.00). The highest and lowest fruit length was recorded if GA3 500 ppm and ethephon 250 ppm were sprayed, respectively. Likewise, the highest fruit numbers per plant was recorded in GA3 300 ppm application whereas the control had the lowest number of fruit produced. The highest fruit yield was produced from the application of GA3 300 ppm (109.7 t/ha) while the lowest fruit yield was recorded in control (40.53 t/ha). The B: C ratio was high in GA3 300 ppm (4.37) application as well. These results indicate the benefit of spraying GA3 300 ppm to have a better performance and fruit yield of cucumber compared to the other treatments with varied concentrations of NAA and GA3.

Efficacy of Plant Growth Regulators on Different Yield Parameters of Cucumber cv. Malini under Shade Net Conditions

“…Increase in size of individual fruits with application of GA3 also reported by Vadigeri et al [5] in cucumber, Chowdary et al [6] in cucumber where GA3 200 ppm significantly increased fruit weight and Nagamani et al [7] who reported that application of GA3 significantly enhanced fruit weight in bitter gourd. Sapkota et al [8] also observed similar findings in cucumber. Finally, the highest fruit length was recorded in treatment with GA3 at 150 ppm.…”

Response of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L. Cv. Bhaktapur local) to the application of plant growth regulators in plastic tunnel

“…Hossain et al (2006) also found that the application of GA 3 at different level (<70 ppm) at pre-flowering stage significantly influenced flowering behavior and fruiting characteristics in bitter gourd. Sapkota et al(2020) reported that NAA 50 ppm had higher number of male and female flower over NAA 100 ppm in cucumber. PGRs treatments had significantly lowered the male to female flower ratio (Table -2).…”

“…Ghani et al (2013) stated that the PGRs have great potentialities to influence plant growth morphogenesis. Sapkota et al(2020) reported that NAA@50 ppm has better fruit yield (70.17 t/ha) than NAA @ 100 ppm (54.39 t/ha) in cuumber cultivar Malini in Chitwan condition. Dalai et al(2015) found that number of female flower per plant in cucumber treated with GA @ 30 ppm(24.21) and NAA @ 50 ppm(25.21) was more in comparision to control(19.31).…”

The Effect of Foliar Application with Naphthalene Acetic Acid and Potassium Nitrate on the Growth, Sex Ratio, and Productivity of Cucumbers (Cucumis sativas L.) under High Temperatures in Semi-Arid Areas

“…Cucumber plants bear a variety of floral forms and morphology, including hermaphrodite flowers, staminate, and pistillate, which occur in different arrangements and produce several types of sexual expression [10,20].…”

“…Numerous former studies have shown that exogenous application of plant growth regulators can cause a change in the sex ratio and sequence if it is applied in the stage of the second leaf until the fourth leaf, which is the critical or effective stage in which either sex can be suppressed or enhanced [10,20]. Other studies have also reported that exogenous application of PGRs may shift sexual expression in cucurbits toward femaleness, increasing the number of pistillate flowers, the number of fruit/plant, and the weight of individual fruit, as well as yield [21].…”