Assessing the Impact of Sulfur, Magnesium, and Acephate on Mustard Crop Performance

Abstract

Field experiments were conducted to studies the interaction effect of sulphur, magnesium and acephate on growth parameters, yield components and yield of mustard during rabi season of 2022-23 and 2023-24 at students instructional farm, Chandra Shekhar Azad University of Agriculture & Technology, Kanpur under Central Plain Zone of Uttar Pradesh. The experiment consist of 18 treatments combinations in factorial randomized block design with three replications consisted of three levels of sulphur (0, 20 and 40 kg ha-1), three magnesium levels (0, 10 and 20 kg ha-1) and two pesticide levels (with acephate and without acephate).  The results demonstrated significant improvements in growth parameters with the combined treatments, notably increasing plant height to 183.25 cm at 60 days after sowing. While plant population remained constant at 13.44 plants per square meter, dry matter accumulation rose from 27.13 g to 28.22 g per plant, and branching increased from 12.59 to 13.14 branches per plant. The S and Mg treatments synergistically enhanced leaf development, with the highest leaf counts observed in the S x Mg treatment. Yield attributes, including the number of siliques per plant and seeds per silique, were significantly improved, particularly with the S x Mg and S x Mg x I interactions. Seed production and stover yield were also notably increased, emphasizing the importance of integrated nutrient and pest management for optimizing mustard production.