Vegetos
(An International Journal of Plant Research & Biotechnology)
Growth, yield and quality of sprouting broccoli (Brassica oleracea L. var. italica) as influenced by different mulches
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Research Article | Published: 08 August, 2025
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Keywords: Broccoli, Growth, Living mulches, Organic mulches, Quality, Yield
Abstract
A field experiment was carried out at the Horticulture Farm of Lovely Professional University, Phagwara, Punjab from October- 2021 to March- 2022 to evaluate the effect of different mulches on the growth, yield and quality of broccoli. The two-factor experiment was conducted following the Randomized Block Design replicated thrice. The first factor comprised of twelve mulches, i.e., T1: Black plastic, T2: Silver plastic, T3: White clover, T4: Purslane, T5: Sawdust, T6: Paddy straw, T7: Wooden chips, T8: Dried grasses, T9: Vermicompost, T10: Dried neem leaves, T11: Dried eucalyptus leaves, T12: Control, and the second factor consisted of two commercial cultivars i.e., V1: Shishir, V2: Green Magic. Plant growth traits such as plant height, number of leaves, stem diameter and days to maturity were found to be maximum under black plastic mulch. On the other hand, the yield traits like curd weight, curd diameter and total curd yield (t/ha) were obtained maximum by using white clover, while the plants under control exhibited lesser yield. Quality parameters in broccoli i.e., ascorbic acid content and dry matter content were found maximum in the plants grown under dried leaves and silver plastic mulch, respectively. The findings of this experiment suggest that use of white clover and black plastic as mulch was found to be suitable for broccoli cultivation in Phagwara region of Punjab.
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Author Information
Department of Horticulture, School of Agriculture, Lovely Professional University, Phagwara, India