Effect of Date of Planting and Spacing on Growth and Yield of Sprouting Broccoli (B. oleraceae (L.) var. italica Plenck) cv. Green Magic

Abstract

The field experiment was conducted during autumn-winter (October to December) seasons of 2017–18 and 2018–19 at Horticultural Farm of Uttar Banga Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Pundibari, Cooch Behar, West Bengal, India. Treatments comprised of four planting dates viz., D₁: 21^st October, D₂: 28^th October, D₃: 7^th November, D₄: 14^th November and four spacing viz., S₁: 30×45 cm², S₂: 45×45 cm², S₃: 60×45 cm² and S₄: 60×60 cm² were assessed in factorial randomized block design with three replications. The broccoli transplanted on 21^st October (D₁) reported significantly maximum head weight (464.95 g) and projected yield (11.46 t ha^-1) which was statistically at par with 2^nd date of planting D₂ i.e 28^th October (423.91 g and 11.03 t ha^-1 respectively) over the other dates of planting, while the wider spacing S₄ i.e. 60×60 cm² showed significantly maximum head weight (400.74 g) over other spacing’s and closer spacing S₁ i.e 30×45 cm² had recorded significantly highest yield (13.48 kg plot^-1 and 14.98 t ha^-1). Interaction between date of planting and spacing was significant in respect of head yield per hectare. Maximum projected head yield (17.19 t ha^-1) was obtained in D₁S₁: 21^st October and 30×45 cm² combination. After adopting the planting dates from October 21^st (D₁) to October 28^th (D₂) and closer spacing of 30×45 cm² (S₁) was found more gainful in terms of yield and other growth parameters also.