Ecology, Environment and Conservation Paper

APPLICATION OF BORON ENHANCES INDIAN MUSTARD (BRASSICA JUNCEA) PRODUCTIVITY AND QUALITY UNDER BORON DEFICIENT CALCAREOUS SOIL IN SEMI-ARID ENVIRONMENT

P. Kumararaja, O.P. Premi and B.K. Kandpal

Abstract

Indian mustard (Brassica juncea) is one of the most important oilseed crops in India and is very sensitive to boron deficiency. A field experiment was conducted to assess the effects of different levels of boron in Bdeficient calcareous soil on yield and some yield components of Indian mustard (cv Varuna). Application of boron significantly influenced the yield by improving the yield attributing characters. Application of 16 kg Borax/ ha resulted in maximum seed yield under both the years. Boron application improves the yield by 35-39% over the control. The dose response curve followed by first order derivative regression showed that optimum B fertilized dose was 1.73 Kg B/ha. Boron contents in stem, leaves and seed increased significantly with increase in B application.