Foliar application of arka banana special as micronutrients increase yield of banana

A study on effect of foliar application of micronutrients mixtures in banana (Musa spp.) for growth and yield characters was conducted at Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Ramanathapuram at Tamil Nadu. There were four technology options viz., TO1: No application of micronutrients, TO2 foliar application of micronutrients (0.5% ZnSO₄, 0.2% FeSO₄, 0.2% CuSO₄ and 0.1% borax @ 3^rd, 5^th and 7^th months after planting (TNAU), TO3: foliar application (spraying) of 0.3% Arka banana special @ 4 sprays at monthly interval starting from 5^th month after planting (IIHR) and TO4: spraying (foliar application) of 2% Banana Sakthi @ three sprays at monthly interval starting from 4^th month after planting (NRCB). The local banana Muppattai used in this study. The experiment was conducted in Randomized Block Design (RBD) with five replications. The results revealed that among the technological options, TO3 recorded the highest values in all the growth and yield characters viz., plant height, pseudostem girth, number of leaves per plant, bunch weight, hand weight, number of fingers per bunch, number of hands per bunch, number of fingers per hand, finger length, finger girth, weight of finger and yield per ha. It was followed by TO4 whereas the TO1 recorded the lowest values in all the characters. Regarding cost economics, TO3 recorded the highest BC ratio of 3.31 with the net profit of Rs. 1,70,750/ha and it was followed by TO4 whereas TO1 registered the lowest B:C ratio (2.92) and net profit (Rs.1,35,200/ha). TO3 (foliar application of 0.3% Arka banana special) registered 15.0 percent yield increase over the control. It was concluded that from the present study, foliar application of 0.3% Arka banana special recorded the highest yield coupled with higher B:C ratio and net profit.