Influence of foliar nutrition on performance of blackgram (Vigna mungo L.), nutrient uptake and economics under dry land ecosystems

A field experiment was carried out during kharif season of 2011 to evaluate the effect of growth regulator, organic and inorganic foliar nutrition on yield and yield attributes of blackgram. The result indicated that application of RDF as a basal dose and foliar spray of 40ppm NAA + 0.5% chelated micronutrient + 2% DAP given at 35 and 50 DAS recorded significantly higher growth components like plant height (37.11 cm), number of branches (8.27 plant⁻¹), leaf area index (4.18), and total dry matter production (15.98 g plant⁻¹) and also higher grain yield (1298 kg ha⁻¹), net returns and B:C ratio ( 52,900 ha⁻¹ and 3.03 respectively), over rest of the treatments but it was at par with RDF + foliar spray of 2% DAP + 0.5% chelated micronutrient. Significantly higher phosphorus and potassium uptake (88.32, 10.72 and 35.09 kg ha⁻¹ respectively), and available N and P₂O₅ content of soil (278.13 and 28.55 kg ha⁻¹ respectively) was noticed in RDF + foliar spray of 40ppm NAA + 0.5% chelated micronutrient + 2% DAP. which was at par with RDF + foliar spray of 2% DAP + 0.5% chelated micronutrient.