Impact of plant growth regulators on growth and yield of summer squash (Cucurbita pepo L.).

Summer squash cultivation is becoming more and more popular among farmers due to its increased nutritional content, short growing season, and quicker economic payoff. Although there is a respectable amount of production, India’s productivity is extremely poor which is big worry for the commercial cultivation of summer squash and the environmental factors causes low productivity. In order to boost production and productivity, raise the number of female flowers, increase profitability for small and marginal farmers, and combat environmental conditions, plant growth regulators play a significant role in this crop. Therefore, by introducing the use of plant growth regulators, summer squash cultivation farmers’ income and yield can be raised. The investigation was carried out at the farmer’s field at Sorakalnatham, Natrampalli taluk, Tirupattur district, Tamil Nadu during February- April 2023 to study the plant growth regulators on the performance of summer squash. The experiment was laid out in randomized block design with thirteen treatments replicated thrice. The treatments were included different concentrations of Naphthalene acetic acid (50, 100, 150 ppm), Gibberellic acid (50, 100, 150ppm), Ethrel (150, 200, 250ppm), Malichydrazide (150, 200, 250ppm), and Control (water spray). The results indicated that the maximum values for growth attributes viz., plant height (78.32 cm), number of branches/plant (3.86) and leaf area (375.29 cm² ), flowering and yield attributes viz., number of female flower/plant (11.85), number of fruits /plant (8.67), fruit set % (73.16), fruit length (44.06 cm), single fruit weight (1.37 kg), fruit yield /plant (11.37 kg) and lowest number of male flower/plant (20.69), sex ratio (1.75) were recorded in the foliar application of plant growth regulator NAA @ 100 ppm. This was followed by the foliar application of plant growth regulators ethrel @ 150 ppm. Significant differences were observed with the use of growth regulators on growth, flowering and yield traits of summer squash. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]