Effect of Nano-fertilizers on Growth and Yield Performance of Cauliflower (Brassica oleracea var. botrytis L.)

Abstract

The study aimed to assess the influence of different nutrient regimes involving conventional and nano NPK fertilizers on key growth and yield parameters of cauliflower, including plant height, number of leaves per plant, leaf area, days to curd initiation, polar and equatorial curd diameters, gross and net curd weights, and overall yield. Conducted from September 2022 to March 2023 at the Experimental Farm of the Department of Soil Science and Water Management, Dr. Yashwant Singh Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Solan (Himachal Pradesh), the experiment followed a Randomized Block Design (RBD) comprising 11 treatment combinations, each replicated three times. The treatments included various combinations of recommended doses of conventional fertilizers (RDF) and foliar applications of nano-NPK fertilizers at concentrations of 0.25%, 0.5%, and 1.0%. The cauliflower cultivar used was Pusa Snowball K-1. Observations were recorded on vegetative growth parameters (plant height, number of leaves, leaf area), physiological traits (days to curd initiation), curd development parameters (polar and equatorial diameters), and yield components (gross and net curd weights, and total yield per plot and per hectare). Results revealed that the integrated application of 1.0% nano-NPK with 80% RDF (Treatment T7) significantly outperformed all other treatments, recording the highest values in all measured parameters: plant height (51.39 cm), number of leaves per plant (21.03), leaf area (1126.00 cm²), earliest curd initiation (88.91 days), curd diameters (13.50 cm and 15.06 cm), gross curd weight (1341.81 g), net curd weight (809.56 g), and yield (293.12 q ha⁻¹). In contrast, the absolute control (T11) consistently showed the lowest performance. The findings demonstrate that integrating nano-NPK with reduced levels of conventional fertilizers is an effective and sustainable nutrient management strategy for improving growth, curd development, and productivity in cauliflower, while enhancing nutrient-use efficiency and supporting environmentally sound agricultural practices.