Assessment of Varietal Attributes of Okra under Foliar Application of Zinc and Boron

Micronutrients are required in small quantities for plant growth and development, nevertheless are indispensable for crop production. Soil application method of fertilizer is very common method for plant nutrition but foliar fertilization also plays effective role under certain circumstances. ZnSO4 applied as a source of Zinc (Zn) and borax utilized as the source boron (B), which are two micronutrients playing significant roles in growth and yield-related attributes of okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L.). Despite of their importance, foliar application of Zn and B on this economically valuable crop received little attention so far. Therefore, to assess the possible response of two okra varieties (‘Chamak’ denoted here as ‘V1’ and ‘Jadoo’ denoted as ‘V2’) to Zn and B, individual foliar spray of Zn and combination of Zn and B were applied on okra plants. The treatment consisted of T0 (Control), T1 (0.2% Zn), T2 (0.3% Zn), T3 (0.2% Zn + 0.2% B) and T4 (0.2% Zn + 0.3% B). Results showed that foliar application of micronutrients significantly improved the growth and yield-related parameters. Among the varieties, ‘Chamak’ showed highest plant growth, yield and yield-related attributes over ‘Jadoo’. In the case of Zn and Zn-B combination, the highest yield (17.7 tone/ha) was noted from T4 compared to control (11 tone/ha). On the other hand, in terms of combination of varieties and treatments, the highest yield (15.77 tone/ha) was found in V1T4 whereas the lowest (8.35 tone/ha) yield was recorded in V2T0, indicating the good performance of Zn and Zn-B combination for the growth and yield-related attributes of okra.