Effect of Different Levels of Boron on the Morphological Traits, Yield and Yield Components of Black Gram (Vigna mungo)

In India, black gram (Vigna mungo) is an important pulse crop that makes up an important proportion of the population’s protein intake. However, low soil fertility specifically, deficiency in macronutrients and micronutrients like boron often limits its output. Foliar treatment of micronutrients, especially boron, has demonstrated potential to increase crop growth and production qualities. A field experiment was conducted to determine the impact of foliar boron application in combination with the recommended dose of fertilizer (RDF) on black gram growth and production.

The experiment was conducted at the crop research centre (CRC), SGT University, Kaliawas, Gurugram, Haryana, in the summer of 2024. Seven treatments were replicated three times in this randomized block design (RBD) experiment. The experimental plot’s soil had a sandy loam texture, slightly alkaline nature and low levels of available nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, sulphur and micronutrients. Because of its consistent performance across all evaluated parameters, treatment combination T₅ which included RDF +2% boron foliar application (F.A.) @30 and 45 days after sowing, showed significant result among all treatments.

Treatment combination T₅ (RDF + foliar application of 2% boron at 30 and 45 DAS) recorded superior result for various growth and yield attributes like plant height (36.20 cm), number of branches per plant (28.12), number of trifoliate leaves per plant (36.86), number of pods per plant (18.00), number of grains per pod (8.20), test weight (42.22g), grain yield (12.54 q ha^-1) and biological yield (32.36 q ha^-1).