EFFECT OF SPACING AND FOLIAR SPRAY OF GIBBERELLIC ACID (GA₃) ON GROWTH AND YIELD OF OKRA

An experiment was conducted at the Horticultural Farm of Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Dhaka during March-July, 2016 to find out the best combination of plant spacing and GA3 dose for successful production of okra. The experiment consisted of two factors, Factor A: three levels of spacing, viz. S₁: 60 cm × 30 cm, S₂: 60 cm × 40 cm and S₃: 60 cm × 50 cm and Factor B: four doses of GA₃, viz. H0 (control; no GA₃); H₁: 50 ppm GA₃; H₂: 100 ppm GA₃ and H₃: 150 ppm GA₃. The experiment was laid out in a Randomized Complete Block Design following 12 treatment combinations and replicated thrice. Results revealed that interaction effect of spacing and foliar spray of GA₃ had significant positive effect on growth (plant height, leaves plant^-1, branches plant^-1 and leaf area), yield contributing traits (number of fruits plant^-1, fruit length, fruit diameter, fruit yield plant^-1 and stover yield plant-1) and yield (tha^-1) of okra. Among different treatment combinations, the highest yield (19.92 t ha^-1) was obtained from S₃H₂ combination. Based on the results of the study, it is concluded that foliar application of 100 ppm GA3 with the spacing of 60 cm × 50 cm produced the highest yield of okra as compared to other treatment combinations tested. From our present findings we can suggest that, 60 cm × 50 cm spacing with 100 ppm GA3 as foliar application would be one of the effective agronomic practices for economic production of okra.