EFFECT OF NITROBENZENE CONCENTRATIONS WITH APPLICATION METHODS ON PLANT GROWTH AND YIELD OF CUCUMBER

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted in the Horticulture Farm of Sher-e Bangla Agricultural University, Dhaka, Bangladesh during October 2019 to March 2020 to study the effects of nitrobenzene on plant growth, flowering, fruit setting and yield of cucumber. The experiment was laid out in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications. It was consisted with two factors viz. i. Concentrations of Nitrobenzene (F 0 = control, F 1 = Nitrobenzene @ 500ppm, F 2 = Nitrobenzene @ 600ppm, F 3 = Nitrobenzene @ 700ppm), ii. Application Methods (T 1 = Foliar Application, T 2 = Soil Application, T 3 = Combined i.e. Foliar + Soil Application). A statistically significant variation was recorded in terms of all the characters related to growth and yield of cucumber. Maximum vine length (175.65 cm) at harvest was found in F 2 treatment and minimum (124.44 cm) was found in F 0

treatment. Nitrobenzene concentration of 600ppm showed better vine growth than concentration of 500ppm and 700ppm. However, the maximum number of leaves (71.36), branches (12.02), female flower (25.61), fruit per plant (18.22), fruit weight (169.09 g) and yield (34.43 t/ha) were recorded from F 2 and F 3 treatment. The minimum values of the same parameters were observed in F 0 treatment or control. The minimum yield (14.71 Kg/plot) was found in T 2 and maximum yield (16.16 Kg/plot) was found in T 3 treatment. In the combination of nitrobenzene concentration and application method, the maximum yield (36.90 t/ha) was found in F 2 treatment and lowest yield (19.90 t/ha) was recorded in F 0 T 3 treatment. The second highest (35.49 t/ha) yield was obtained from F 3 T 3 treatment. The highest benefit cost ratio (2.632) was attained from the treatment combination of F 2 T 3 (nitrobenzene @ 600ppm with combined application) treated plants.