Influence of foliar fertilization of boron on broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica) in boron deficient soil of Doon Valley, India

Boron deficiency is widespread in Indian soils. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the influence of foliar application of B on growth, yield and quality of broccoli through field experiment during winter season for two consecutive years in boron deficient soil of Doon Valley. Foliar application of all treatments of B had no significant effect on growth characters viz. plant height, number of leaves per plant and average plant spread. However, the days taken to curd initiation and curd maturity were minimum with the application of disodium octaborate @ 0.1% followed by borax @ 0.2%. Curd formation and curd weight per plant were maximum with di-sodium octaborate @ 0.1%. Other quality parameters like curd diameter and curd depth were also maximum with disodium octaborate @ 0.1%. All the B treatments significantly affected curd yield. The maximum curd yield was obtained with the application of disodium octaborate @ 0.1% which was 95.64% higher than the control. Thus, foliar application of B as disodium octaborate @ 0.1% was found most effective in the present investigation for maximization of yield and quality of broccoli.