Growth and yield response of Brassica oleracea var. italica to different GA3 application time

Abstract

An experiment was conducted to determine the influence of GA3 on growth, yield and yield contributing characters of broccoli to different GA3 application times. Four GA3 application times [D 1 : seedling dipped in GA3 for 24 h before transplanting; D 2 : 4 weeks after transplanting (foliar spray of GA3); D 3 : 6 weeks after transplanting (foliar spray of GA3) and D 4 : 8 weeks after transplanting (foliar spray of GA3)] were used in the experiment; all dips and sprays contained 50 ppm GA3. The maximum number of main fingers (11.9/main curd), main curd length (16.7 cm), main curd diameter (19.3 cm), main curd weight (566.0 g/plant) and yield (22.8 t/ha) was found from dipping seedlings in GA3 for 24 h before transplanting.

Full text

Growth and Yield Response of Brassica oleracea var. italica to Dierent GA3
Applicaon Time
MM Reza et al., BAOJ Biotech 2017, 3: 1
3: 024
BAOJ Biotech, an open access journal Volume 3; Issue 1; 024
Md Mamunur Reza1, Mohidul Islam2, Md Azizul Hoque3, RK Sikder4 and H Mehraj5,6*
1Assistant Director, Dashmina Seed Mulplicaon Farm, BADC, Dashmina, Patuakhali, Bangladesh
2Scienc Ocer (Horculture), Bangladesh Agricultural Research Instute, Dhaka, Bangladesh
3Department of Horculture, BSMRAU, Salna, Gazipur-1706, Dhaka, Bangladesh
4Horculture Development Division, BADC, Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh
5The United Graduate School of Agricultural Sciences, Ehime University, Ehime 790-8556, Japan
6Lab of Vegetable and Floricultural Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Kochi University, B200 Monobe, Nankoku, Kochi 783-8502, Japan
BAOJ Biotechnology
*Corresponding author: H Mehraj, Faculty of Agriculture, Kochi Universi-
ty, B200 Monobe, Nankoku, Kochi 783-8502, Japan, E-mail: hmehraj02@
yahoo.com
Sub Date: January 27, 2017, Acc Date: February 7, 2017, Pub Date:
February 8, 2017.
Citaon: Md Mamunur Reza, Mohidul Islam, Md Azizul Hoque, RK Sikder
and H Mehraj (2017) Growth and Yield Response of Brassica oleracea var.
italica to Dierent GA3 Applicaon Time. BAOJ Biotech 3: 024.
Copyright: © 2017 MM Reza et al. This is an open-access arcle distribut-
ed under the terms of the Creave Commons Aribuon License, which
permits unrestricted use, distribuon, and reproducon in any medium,
provided the original author and source are credited.
Research Arcle
Abstract
An experiment was conducted to determine the inuence of GA3
on growth, yield and yield contributing characters of broccoli to
dierent GA3 application times. Four GA3 application times
[D1: seedling dipped in GA3 for 24 h before transplanting; D2:
4 weeks aer transplanting (foliar spray of GA3); D3: 6 weeks
aer transplanting (foliar spray of GA3) and D4: 8 weeks aer
transplanting (foliar spray of GA3)] were used in the experiment;
all dips and sprays contained 50 ppm GA3. e maximum number
of main ngers (11.9/main curd), main curd length (16.7 cm),
main curd diameter (19.3 cm), main curd weight (566.0 g/plant)
and yield (22.8 t/ha) was found from dipping seedlings in GA3 for
24 h before transplanting.
Key Words: Broccoli; Gibberellic Acid; Seedling Dipping; Foliar
Spray
Introducon
Sprouting broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica) is a winter season
vegetable crop, belonging to the Brassicaceae. e popularity of
broccoli has increased due to its great nutritional value [1,2,3] in
Bangladesh, and there is a trend for farmers to increase cultivation.
Broccoli has a high nutritional and commercial value [4]. It is low
in sodium, fats and calories, high in vitamin C and a good source of
vitamin A, vitamin B2 and calcium [5]. e vitamin A contents in
sprouting broccoli is about 130 times higher than cauliower and
22 times higher cabbage [6].
Much research has been conducted on the uses of plant growth
regulators in dierent crops. Plant growth regulators (PGRs)
modify the physiological processes within the plant that inuence
the plant growth and morphogenesis, which ultimately aects the
yield and quality of the crop. Among the PGRs, GA3 is mostly used
for growth and yield improvement of the eld crops. However,
application of PGRs should be in optimal concentrations and
applied at the appropriate stage of growth [7]. GA3 was applied
bay soaking into germination paper for wheat thus stimulates
stem or coleoptiles elongation [8]. Sprouting broccoli responds
signicantly to the applications of GA3 at dierent concentrations
[9]. Application of GA3 at dierent times also signicantly aects
plant growth and yield [10]. Most of the research had been
conducted on the foliar spray of dierent concentration of GA3
in broccoli [11]. But we thought that pre-soaking of seedlings may
improve the growth and yield of broccoli more than the foliar
sprays. Considering this hypothesis, this study was undertaken to
determine the GA3 application time on broccoli growth and yield
under the growing conditions found in Bangladesh.
Materials and Methods
e experiment was conducted at the Horticultural Research
Farm of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural
University, Gazipur, Bangladesh during the period from October
2, 2012 to January 7, 2013 using a randomized complete block
design (RCBD) with three replications. Broccoli (cv. ‘Premium
Crop’) seeds were collected from Manik Seed Company, Siddique
Bazar Road, Bangshal, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Firstly seeds were
sown in seedbed and then thirty days old healthy seedlings were
transplanted into the main eld. GA3 at 50 ppm was applied at
four dierent growth stage viz. D1: seedlings dipped in GA3 for 24
h before transplanting; D2: 4 weeks aer transplanting (foliar spray
of GA3); D3: 6 weeks aer transplanting (foliar spray of GA3) and
D4: 8 weeks aer transplanting (foliar spray of GA3). e unit plot
size was 1.5 × 2.0 m with a plot to plot and replication to replication
distance of 0.5 m and 1.0 m, respectively. ere were four rows in
each plot having three plants per row giving 12 plants per total per

BAOJ Biotech, an open access journal Volume 3; Issue 1; 024
Citaon: Md Mamunur Reza, Mohidul Islam, Md Azizul Hoque, RK Sikder and H Mehraj (2017) Growth and Yield Response of Bras-
sica oleracea var. italica to Dierent GA3 Applicaon Time. BAOJ Biotech 3: 024.
Page 2 of 3
plot. Row to row and plant to plant distance was 50 cm and 50 cm,
respectively. Data were collected on plant height (cm), number of
leaves per plant, leaf size(cm2), canopy spread (cm), stem diameter
(mm), days to curd initiation (1st and 50%), main curd diameter
(cm), main curd length, main curd weight/plant, yield/plant (g)
and yield (t/ha). e collected data were statistically analyzed using
MSTAT-C. e means were separated by Duncan’s Multiple Range
Test (DMRT) at 5% level of probability [12].
Results
Plant Height, Stem Diameter, Number of Leaves and Canopy
Spread
Signicant variation was found among the treatments with respect
to plant height. e tallest plants were in treatments D3 (30.8 cm)
and D4 (30.6 cm), which were statistically identical with each
other, while the shortest plants were in treatment D1 (29.3 cm)
(Table 1). Stem diameters and canopy spread were similar among
the treatments with those from the plants in D3 (31.3 cm) being
signicantly smaller than those in the other treatments (Table 1).
Signicant variation was found among treatments for number of
leaves with a trend for leaf number to increase with the lateness of
application.
Days to First Flower Initiation, 50% Flower Initiation, Harvest
and 50% Harvest
Days to rst ower initiation, 50% ower initiation, rst harvest
and 50% harvest did not vary signicantly among the treatments
Number of Fingers and Hollow Stem
Signicant variation was found among the treatments for the
number of ngers of broccoli. e maximum number of ngers
were found in treatments D1 (11.9/main curd) and D3 (11.7/main
curd) whereas the minimum was found from D4 (11.2/main curd)
(Table 2). e number of hollow stems did not vary signicantly
among the treatments.
Main Curd Length, Diameter and Weight
Signicant variation was found among the treatments for main
curd length, diameter and weight. e longest curds were found
in treatments D1 (16.7 cm) and D4 (16.0 cm), whereas the shortest
were found in D2 (15.4 cm) and D3 (15.9 cm) (Table 2). e largest
main curd diameters were found in D1 (19.3 cm) while smallest
were found in D2 (16.4 cm) (Table 2). e main curd weights of the
plants in treatments D1 (566.0 g/plant), D3 (538.4 g/plant) and D4
(537.0 g/plant) were similar, but those in D2 (518.6 g/plant) were
lower (Table 2).
Yield
e yield of broccoli showed signicant variation among the
treatments. However, maximum yield was found from D1 (22.8 t/
ha) followed by D3 (21.7 t/ha) and D4 (21.4 t/ha) whereas minimum
yield was found from D2 (20.8 t/ha) (Table 2).
Discussion
In this study, 50 ppm of GA3 was applied at dierent times.
Application by dipping seedling prior to planting gave higher
yields than later, foliar applications. In our previous study, we
used foliar spray of GA3 at dierent concentrations and found the
highest yield from 50 ppm [13]. We also found that application of
more than 50 ppm reduced the yield of broccoli in the conditions
Table 1. Eect of me of GA3 applicaon plant height, stem diameter, number of leaf/plant, canopy spreading, rst and 50% ower iniaon
and rst harvestX
Time of GA3
applicaon Plant height (cm) Stem diameter
(cm)
Number of
leaf/plant
Canopy spreading
(cm2)
Days to
rst ower
iniaon
Days to 50%
ower iniaon
Days to rst
harvest
D129.3 b 32.9 a 14.8 b 33.6 a 46.7 a 50.7 a 65.5 a
D230.3 b 33.7 a 15.1 ab 34.3 a 46.6 a 50.7 a 65.6 a
D330.8 a 31.3 b 15.2 ab 31.9 b 46.3 a 50.0 a 65.3 a
D430.6 ab 33.6 a 15.4 a 34.3 a 46.7 a 50.8 a 65.7 a
CV (%) 2.4 4.5 3.6 4.5 2.6 2.1 1.8
X With a column, means annotated with means with dierent leers are signicantly dierent at P = 0.05 according to DMRTs
Table 2. Eect of me of GA3 applicaon on number of nger/main curd, 50% harvest, no of hollow stem/plot, main curd length, main curd
diameter, main curd weight/plant and yieldX
Time of GA3
applicaon
No of ngers/
main curd
Days to 50%
harvest
No of hollow
stem/plot
Main curd length
(cm)
Main curd
diameter
(cm)
Main curd weight
(g)/plant Yield (t/ha)
D111.9 a 68.5 a 7.5 a 16.7 a 19.3 a 566.0 a 22.8 a
D211.5 bc 68.7 a 7.9 a 15.4 b 16.4 c 518.6 b 20.8 c
D311.7 ab 68.0 a 7.9 a 15.9 b 17.5 b 538.4 ab 21.7 b
D411.2 c 68.8 a 7.6 a 16.0 ab 17.3 b 537.0 ab 21.4 b
CV (%) 3.2 1.5 11.6 5.8 2.8 6.3 3.3
X Within a column, mean means annotated with means with dierent leers are signicantly dierent at P = 0.05 according to DMRTs.

BAOJ Biotech, an open access journal Volume 3; Issue 1; 024
Citaon: Md Mamunur Reza, Mohidul Islam, Md Azizul Hoque, RK Sikder and H Mehraj (2017) Growth and Yield Response of Bras-
sica oleracea var. italica to Dierent GA3 Applicaon Time. BAOJ Biotech 3: 024.
Page 3 of 3
of Bangladesh [13]. Applications of GA3 have been suggested to
increase plant growth and the yield of various species [11,14,15].
In our current study, we used 50 ppm concentration of GA3 to
enhance growth and yield performance of broccoli. We used
dierent application time of 50 ppm GA3, here. Root soaking
with 50 ppm GA3 has been shown to signicantly increase the
number of owers, fruits and yield [16,17]. Applications of GA3
at a vegetative stage also have been shown to increase fruit weight
per plant, but this eect was not found by applications of GA3
at the owering stage [16,18]. e increase in weight of head
and yield might be due to accumulation of carbohydrates due to
greater photosynthesis, higher food accumulation and better plant
growth also by increasing growth characters by cell division, cell
elongation and cell expansion that might have ultimately increased
in the yield. A similar eect was also observed by apa et al. [9]
in sprouting broccoli and Yadav et al. [19]; Sawant et al. [20] and
Lendve et al. [21] in cabbage. Milanesi et al. [22] also conducted
an experiment using dierent application time of GA3 and found
variation at dierent application times in lentil. A signicant
increase in yield was also found in root treatments by auxin that
promoted the root initiation of plant seedlings [23,24]. Mode of
GA3 application inuenced plant growth and development and,
ultimately, yield. Root treatments with GA3 or IAA were also more
eective than foliar sprays in promoting the growth of onions [23].
Conclusion
e results showed that the time of GA3 application signicantly
aected plant height, number of leaves, leaf size, canopy spread,
stem diameter, plant vigor, main curd diameter, main curd length,
main curd weight/plant and yield, but did not aect crop duration-
related parameters. Under Bangladeshi conditions, the growth and
yield of broccoli was most improved by a dip 50 ppm of GA3 given
to seedlings 24 h before transplanting. Dipping of the seedling was
more eective than foliar application of GA3. It is highly suggested
to dip the broccoli seedlings 24 h prior to planting for better yield.
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