Harnessing Plant Bio-regulators and Bio-stimulant for Enhanced Vegetative Growth, Physiological Performance and Yield Efficiency of Oriental Persimmon (Diospyros Kaki L.)
摘要
Improved vegetative growth and physiological performance play a critical role in determining the yield efficiency of oriental persimmon (Diospyros kaki L.) by directly influencing canopy development, photosynthetic efficiency, transpiration rate, stomatal conductance, and overall tree vigour. For this purpose, plant bio-regulators and bio-stimulants can be effectively employed to achieve desired outcomes. In this study, foliar application of different concentrations of gibberellic acid (GA3), benzyladenine (BA), brassinosteroid (BR) and a bio-stimulant was carried out at different stages of persimmon growth, viz. 6 weeks before peak bloom, 1 week before peak bloom and 30 days after peak bloom, in a randomized block design. The results indicated that foliar application of various treatments had a significant positive effect on vegetative growth, physiological parameters and leaf macro- and micro-nutrient content. A significant increase in annual shoot growth (77.81 cm), stomatal conductance (0.21 mmol H2O m−2 s−1), transpiration rate (8.75 mmol H2O m−2 s−1) and leaf chlorophyll (2.78 mg g−1 fresh weight), N (27.2 g kg−1), Ca (60.3 g kg−1), Fe (72.3 mg kg−1) and Zn (22.95 mg kg−1) content was observed in plants treated with 60 mg L−1 BA. Application of 3 mL L−1 bio-stimulant resulted in a significant improvement in canopy volume (61.14%), yield efficiency (0.19 kg/cm2 TCSA) and leaf P (2.3 g kg−1), K (28.0 g kg−1), Mg (7.3 g kg−1), Cu (23.66 mg kg−1) and Mn (268.54 mg kg−1) content.