Effect of Potassium and Boron on the Growth, Development and Yield of Lentil

Abstract

The study was carried out at the Agronomy Field Laboratory, University of Rajshahi, Bangladesh during the period of 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 to study the effect of potassium and boron on the growth, development and yield of lentil. The treatment comprised of four varieties of lentil viz. BARI masur-1, BARI masur-4, BARI masur-5, BARI masur-6, Five levels of potassium (0, 15, 25, 35, 45 kg K ha-1) and five levels of boron (0, 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2 kg B ha-1). The experiments were laid out in RCBD design with three replications. Growth characters differed significantly due to variety, potassium and boron at different stages. The BARI masur-6 produced the highest TDM and CGR than other varieties in both the experiments. The highest growth characters were observed when field was fertilized with 35 kg K ha-1 and 1.5 kg B ha-1. TDM and CGR increased with the advancement of plant ages. The highest development parameters like LPR, BPR, FR, Days to 50% flowering and Days to maturity were observed in BARI masur-6 where applied different levels of potassium and boron. The lowest values were found in Control. The highest yield contributing characters like plant height, number of branches plant-1, number of effective pods plant-1, number of non-effective pods plant-1, number of seeds pod-1, length of the pod, and 1000 seed weight were produced BARI masur-6 which was statistically similar to BARI masur-5. Among the varieties BARI masur-6 produced the highest grain yield. When the field was fertilized with potassium and boron, the yield components were found maximum. The grain yield was highest when 35 kg K ha-1 and 1.5 kg B ha-1 were applied to the field. Grain yield was positively correlated with plant height, number of branches plant-1, number of effective pods plant-1, number of seeds pod-1, length of the pod and 1000 seed weight. So it could be concluded that BARI masur-6 is better for maximizing growth, development and yield of lentil when the field was fertilized with 35 kg K ha-1 and 1.5 kg B ha-1.