Effect of foliar application of plant growth promoting substances on yield of green pea

Abstract:

Can the strategic use of foliar-applied plant growth promoters narrow the productivity gap that smallholder pea growers in semi-arid central Anatolia continue to face? This field research attempted to answer that question. A two-season field experiment was laid out during the winter seasons of 2021-22 and 2022-23 at the research farm of the Konya Food and Agriculture University, Konya. Six treatments were tested in a randomised block design with four replications on the popular variety Arkel. Treatments included a water-spray control, three plant growth regulators (GA₃ at 50 ppm, NAA at 30 ppm and salicylic acid at 100 ppm) and two biofertiliser foliar sprays (Azotobacter and phosphate-solubilising bacteria). Sprays were delivered twice, at 30 and 45 days after sowing. Growth attributes, yield components and green pod yield were recorded. Salicylic acid at 100 ppm recorded the tallest plants (54.3 cm), the highest number of pods per plant (21.7), longer pods and a mean green pod yield of 7.43 t ha⁻¹, which was 59.1 per cent higher than the water-spray control. GA₃ at 50 ppm was the second best treatment (6.84 t ha⁻¹). Biofertiliser sprays gave moderate gains of 26.1-31.0 per cent. Shelling percentage and protein content also improved with salicylic acid. The findings point to salicylic acid as a low-cost, farmer-friendly foliar input for improving green pea productivity under the undulating, rainfed conditions that dominate the central Anatolian steppe.