Effect of Plant Growth Regulators on Growth, Yield and Quality of Papaya (Carica papaya L.) cv. Pusa Nanha

Abstract

This study was conducted during the 2024–2025 period to determine the most effective treatment for enhancing the growth, yield, and quality of Papaya cv. Pusa Nanha. The experiment was laid out in a Randomized Block Design (RBD) with three replications and ten treatment combinations, which included: T0: Control, T1: NAA 100 ppm, T2: NAA 200 ppm, T3: GA₃ 100 ppm, T4: GA₃ 200 ppm, T5: CCC 500 ppm, T6: CCC 1000 ppm, T7: Ethrel 200 ppm, T8: Ethrel 350 ppm, and T9: Ethrel 150 ppm. Treatments were administered through foliar application at the start of the experiment, during the vegetative phase, at pre-flowering, and at the fruit-setting stage to assess their impact on the crop. The findings indicated that treatment T4 (GA₃ 200 ppm) was superior across all measured parameters. It resulted in the maximum plant height (153.70 cm), stem girth (47.43 cm), number of leaves per plant (36.52), minimum days to first flowering (109.95), days to first fruiting (133.47), and days to fruit maturity (238.58). It also produced the highest number of fruits per plant (36.70), fruit length (18.00 cm), fruit diameter (15.40 cm), fruit weight (942.73 g), fruit yield per plant (34.60 kg), fruit yield per hectare (106.78 t), pulp weight (902.28 g), and peel weight (40.45 g). Additionally, it resulted in the highest total soluble solids (12.37 °Brix), lowest acidity (0.13%), and maximum ascorbic acid content (66.88 mg/100 g). Therefore, treatment T4 (GA₃ 200 ppm) showed a significantly favorable effect on the growth, yield, and quality attributes of papaya throughout the study.