Abstract

Field experiments were conducted on crop nutrition to study the influence of soil and foliar application of silicon on vegetative characters, fruit yield and nutrients content of sapota leaf at Regional Horticultural Research and Extension Centre, Mudigere, Karnataka during the years 2010 and 2011. Silicon sources like potassium silicate as foliar spray and calcium silicate as soil application were tried in RCBD design with three replicates. The results revealed that foliar spray of potassium silicate @ 4 ml/l+half dose of pesticide significantly increased the number of leaves/shoot (135.87), shoots/m2 (26.83), flowers/m2 (298.33), fruit length (5.584 cm), fruit diameter (5.85 cm), volume (102.38 ml), fruit weight (100.67 g), highest number of fruits (1147) per tree, fruit yield per tree (144.75 kg), fruit yield per hectare (14.47 t/ha) and minimum number of mummified fruits (27.67) compared to soil application of calcium silicate @ 2.5 kg/tree. Foliar spray of potassium silicate alone increased the shelf life period and TSS content of sapota. Sapota leaf recorded significantly higher content of N (1.60%), P (0.19%), K (2.42%), Fe (169.40 ppm), Cu (6.38 ppm), Zn (24.63 ppm) and Si (1.37%) and lesser content of Mn (74.06 ppm) and B (40.85 ppm) due to foliar spray of potassium silicate @ 4 ml/l+half dose of pesticide. But soil application of calcium silicate @ 2.5 kg/tree recorded significantly higher Ca (1.41%), Mg (0.45%), Mn (81.60 ppm) and B (43.34 ppm) content in the sapota leaf.