Assessment of Plant Growth Promoters on Growth Characteristics, Yield Attributes and Yield of Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) Varieties in Central Plain Zone of Uttar Pradesh, India

Abstract

The present investigation was carried out during Rabi season of 2022-23 at Students' Instructional Farm of Chandra Shekhar Azad University of Agriculture and Technology, Kanpur. The experiment was designed with two factors, viz. wheat varieties (DBW-187 and PBW-723) in the main plots and plant growth promoters (PGPs) viz., micronutrients (Zn, Fe, B, Cu) @ 0.5%, nitrobenzene @ 3 ml l-1, gibberellic acid @ 2 ml l-1, seaweed extract liquid @ 625 ml ha-1, seaweed extract solid @ 25 kg ha-1, UPL Macarena (Fermented extract nutrient 15%) @ 625 ml ha-1, Humesol (humic acid 18 %, fulvic acid 15 %) @ 1250 ml ha-1, and Amino Booster G (30 % amino acid solution) @ 5 ml l-1 were selected in sub-plots. These treatments were compared with a control treatment. The experiment was laid out in a Split Plot Design and replicated three times. The results revealed that significant variations were noticed in different treatments. The wheat variety DBW-187 exhibited superior growth and yield attributes, with a grain yield of 4601.8 kg ha-1, surpassing other variety. Among plant growth promoters the blend of micronutrients (Zn, Fe, B, Cu) @ 0.5% foliar spray at tillering stage resulted in the significant maximum plant height (86.55 cm), crop growth rate (0.243 g m-2 day-1), at 45 to 90 DAS, number of tillers (425.13 m-2) at maturity, grain yield (4572.17 kg ha-1) and straw yield (7072.20 kg ha-1). The gibberellic acid @ 2ml l-1 and seaweed extract liquid @ 625 ml ha-1 also showed significant results.