Asian Journal of Research in Botany

A field experiment was accomplished in the Horticulture farm of Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Dhaka during the period from October 2018 to March 2019 to study on influence of starter solution and mulching on growth and yield of broccoli. The experiment comprised of four levels of starter solution viz., S₀ (Control), S₁ (1% Starter solution), S₂ (1.5% Starter solution) and S₃ (2% Starter solution) and four levels of mulching viz., M₀ (no mulch), M₁ (Black polythene), M₂ (Water hyacinth) and M₃ (Rice straw) were used in this experiment arranged in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications. Data on different growth and yield attributes parameters were taken in which all the treatment showed significant variations. In the case of starter solution, maximum plant height (71.41 cm), number of leaves (15.35), canopy spread (78.86 cm) and weight of primary curd (416.41 g) were recorded from S₃ (2% urea solution) treatment. In the case of mulching, maximum plant height (73.02 cm), number of leaves (16.00), canopy spread (80.81 cm) and weight of primary curd (442.24 g) were recorded from M₁ (Black polythene) treatment. The highest yield (19.67 t/ha) was recorded from S₃ (2% Starter solution) whereas the lowest yield (14.83 t/ha) was obtained from S₀. Significantly higher yield (21.00 t/ha) was recorded from M₁ (Black polythene) while the lowest yield (12.88 t/ha) was obtained from M₀ treatment. In the case of the combined effects the maximum yield (24.07 t/ha) was recorded from the treatment combination of S₃M₁ while the lowest yield was (11.87 t/ha) recorded from S₀M₀ treatment. It was apparent from the above results that the treatment combination of S₃M₁ was more suitable for farmers than rest of treatment combinations.