EVALUATION OF BROCCOLI GENOTYPES UNDER INORGANIC AND ORGANICSYSTEM

Abstract

The present study was made with a view to evaluating three broccoli genotypes viz., BR001, BR002 and Premium under inorganic and organic system of production during the winter season of 2013-2014 under Sylhet conditions at the experimental field of Horticulture Department, Sylhet Agricultural University (inorganic) and at the field (organic) of FIVDB (Friends in Village Development Bangladesh), Surmagate, Sylhet. Variation of seedling characteristics in relation to fresh weight of seedling, shoot length, root length, biggest leaf length, biggest leaf breadth and number of leaves per seedling was observed among three broccoli genotypes. Plant growth behavior at different days after transplanting (DAT) was also observed. Days to first curd initiation and days to first harvest were significantly different among the genotypes of which Premium was the earliest to first harvest (63.50 days) while the genotype BR002 required 67.17 days to first harvest. The genotype Premium produced the highest primary curd weight (183.87 g) as well as secondary curd per plant (136.05 g) while the genotype BR001 had the lowest primary curd weight (54.60 g) as well as secondary curd per plant (70.39 g). Among the three broccoli genotypes Premium produced the highest primary and secondary curd yield 6.82 t/ha and 5.04 t/ha, respectively. Production systems had significant influence on growth and yield of broccoli. The first curd initiation was the lowest for the plant grown from inorganic production system (54.44 days) compared to organic production system (55.33 days). The highest primary curd weight (138.01 g) and secondary curd per plant (144.81 g) were recorded from the inorganic production system while they were 63.23 g and 41.73 g, respectively for organic production system. The plants in inorganic system produced the highest yield of both primary and secondary curd per hectare (5.11 and 5.37 ton, respectively). Days to first curd initiation, primary curd weight and secondary curd weight per plant were significantly influenced by the interaction of genotypes and production systems. The highest primary curd yield was harvested from the genotype Premium (9.86 t/ha) when grown in inorganic production system which was followed by the same genotype grown in organic production system (3.77 t/ha). Among three genotypes Premium yielded the maximum secondary curd per hectare (8.02 ton) when planted in inorganic production system followed by BR002 (4.12 ton) planted in the same system. Storage of broccoli under open room temperature and polythene bag at refrigerator were different in term of shelf life. Broccoli curd showed maximum shelf life when stored at refrigerator (6 days) compared to open room temperature (3 days).