Foliar application of micronutrient formulations for enhanced growth and yield of cabbage

Abstract

Cabbage is a prominent leafy vegetable belonging to the cole group of vegetables. To increase its productivity, nutrient management involving use of micronutrients is one of the most important practices. Consequently, the present study was conducted to assess the efficacy of four laboratory-prepared micronutrient formulations (Micromix A; Mix-A, Micromix B; Mix-B, Micromix C; Mix-C and Micromix D; Mix-D) on growth and yield of cabbage. For comparison two micronutrient formulations available in the market, Arka Vegetable Special and Agromin were also undertaken in this study. The results revealed a significant improvement in morphological parameters like fresh stem weight, fresh root weight, root length, head weight per plant and open leaf weight per plant as a result of foliar application of micronutrient formulations as compared to the control. Additionally, it was discovered that foliar application of Mix-A, Mix-B, Mix-C and Mix-D increased the yield of cabbage by 14.04 %, 20.25 %, 27.14 % and 23.14 %, respectively over the control. Furthermore, among different formulations, Mix-C proved more effective as compared to the rest of the treatments. Thus, it can be inferred that foliar application of micronutrients has great potential in improving the yield and yield characteristics of cabbage.