Effect of 2,4-D on Growth and Yield of Chilli (Capsicum annuum L.)

The investigation, carried out from August-2021 to February-2022 at Horticulture Research Farm of SHUATS, Prayagraj, was aimed to optimize the dose of 2,4-D used as plant growth regulator in chilli to find out suitable genotypes assessing the variability of chilli crop occurred in India for cultivating in lower Gangetic plains of Uttar Pradesh. The experiment was laid out in a Factorial Randomized Block Design with three replications where combinations of three levels of 2,4-D i.e. 0, 2 and 4 ppm and 4 genotypes (AVT-1 2020 CHIHYB-3, AVT-1 2020 CHIHYB-6, AVT-1 2020 CHIHYB-9 and Surajmukhi hybrid) were allotted in 12 main plots in each replication. The observations were recorded for growth, earliness and yield attributes viz, plant height (30, 60 and 90 DAT), number of branches (30, 60 and 90 DAT), weight of 10 fruits per plant, number of fruits per plant, fruit yield per plant and fruit yield per ha. Among all the genotypes AVT-1 2020 CHIHYB-9 performed better with application of 2,4-D @ 4ppm in attributes viz., plant height (30, 60 and 90 DAT) (12.37 cm, 69.93 cm and 84.93cm respectively), number of branches per plant (30, 60 and 90 DAT) (6.37, 14.37 and 20.37 respectively), weight of 10 fruits per plant (120), number of fruits per plant (54g), fruit yield per plant (3.88 Kg) and fruit yield per ha (143.83 t). Significant differences were also observed for genotypes and their interactions in respect of 2,4-D for all attributes.