Effect of Paclobutrazol on growth and yield of Cashew (Anacardium occidentale L.)

Effect of Paclobutrazol on growth and yield of Cashew (Anacardium occidentale L.)

An experiment was conducted on cashew cultivar, Ullal-3 to study the influence of Paclobutrazol (PBZ) on its vigour and yield. The paclobutrazol was applied on 1 year old plant in 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0 gm per plant as soil drench annually, biennially and once in three years before vegetative flushing. The results revealed that the plant height of PBZ treated plant ranged from 229.2 to 261.1 cm in different doses while in untreated plants, it varied from 262 to 275.7 cm. The canopy spread in E-W direction among PBZ treated plants ranged from 223.7 to 252.5 cm while the untreated plants recorded 269.4 to 274.5 cm in same direction. The canopy spread in N-S direction among PBZ treated plants ranged from 234.5 to 268.2 cm, while the untreated plants varied from 273.6 to 277.7 cm in the same direction. The girth of collar region among PBZ treated plants ranged from 28.1 to 30.0 cm, while the untreated plants recorded an average girth of 29.8 to 30.2cm. The number of new flushes among PBZ treated plants ranged between 196 and 223, over the, untreated plants (176 to 196).The internodal length in PBZ treated plants ranged from 0.6 to 3.1 cm, while the untreated plants recorded 3.4 to 3.5 cm indicating the role of PBZ in reducing the plant vigour. The PBZ treated plants recorded nut weight of 6.63 to 7.56 g and nut yield of 756 to 1127 g/plant, while untreated plants recorded nut weight of 7.02 to 7.36 g and a nut yield of 668 to 728 g per plant.