Effect of Foliar Spray of Boron and their Time of Application on Yield, Quality and Economics of Beetroot (Beta vulgaris L.)

Abstract

The present investigation was carried out at Hi-Tech Unit, Department of Horticulture, Rajasthan College of Agriculture, MPUAT, Udaipur. The twelve treatments comprising of various combinations of 4 levels of boron, i.e., B 0 - 0, B 1 - 100, B 2 - 150 and B 3 - 200 ppm and three spray application times, i.e., D 1 - 30, D 2 - 45 and D 3 - 60 DAS. The treatments for beetroot crop were evaluated with three replications under factorial randomized block design. The experimental results show that different concentrations of boron, application times and their combinations significantly affected yield and quality of beetroot. Among treatments with different concentration of boron maximum yield per plot (45.44 kg), yield of root (454.45 q/ha), dry matter (18.08 %), protein on dry weight basis (2.54 %), ascorbic acid content (3.48 mg 100g-1), total soluble solids (16.10 oBrix) and beta carotene content (1438.34 IU) were recorded with treatment B3D1 (200 ppm boron spray at 30 DAS) and alsosignificantly produced higher gross return (₹ 238340.00), maximum net return (₹ 170230.00) and benefit cost ratio of 2.50, i.e., generating highest net return of ₹ 2.50 per rupee invested.