Influence of Plant Density and Nutrient Management on Growth, Yield and Quality of Radish (raphanus Sativus l.) Cv. ‘PUSA CHETKI’

An experiment on influence of plant density and nutrient management on growth, yield and quality of radish (Raphanus sativus L.) cv. 'Pusa Chetki' was carried out at B. A. College of Agriculture, Anand in the year 2010-11. The results revealed that wider spacing (30 x 15 cm) recorded significantly higher number of leaves (13.96), fresh weight of leaves (113.7 g), leaf area (203.99 cm2), length of ischolar_main (19.2 cm), volume of ischolar_main (105.4 cm3), diameter of ischolar_main (4.0 cm), fresh weight of ischolar_main per plant (134.3 g), moisture content (97.2 %) and dry weight of ischolar_main (3.1 g) at 60 DAS. Though the closer spacing secured the highest leaf area index (0.55, 0.73 and 0.79, respectively at 30, 45 and 60 DAS), number of plants per square meter (49.00 and 35.61, respectively at 15 days and at the time of last picking), leaf : ischolar_main ratio (0.87) and fresh ischolar_main yield (29.0 t/ha). Higher fertilizer application (50 : 50 : 50 kg N:P:K + 5 t FYM +1.25 t vermicompost + 0.5 t castorcake/ha) significantly improved all the growth, yield and quality parameters as compared to the control. The interactions between spacings and fertilizers were found significant in respect to growth and yield attributes of radish, while it was found non significant in quality parameters. The maximum leaf area (238.8 cm2) was recorded in the treatment combination of S3F5, while maximum leaf area index (2.73) was observed in treatment combination of S1 F5 at 60 DAS. With respect to yield attributes, the highest volume of ischolar_main (125.3 cm3) and fresh weight of ischolar_main (160.1 g) were noticed under treatment combination S3 F5. Likewise, treatment combination of S2F5 recorded the highest leaf : ischolar_main ratio (1.1). However,maximum yield (38.58 t/ha) was recorded in closer spacing with more source of fertilizer (S1F5).