Abstract
An investigation was conducted to find out the effect of GABA (a mixture of Gibberellic acid (GA3) and absicic acid (ABA)) on growth characters and yield of blackgram (Vigna mungo (L.) Hepper, sy. Phaseolus mungo L.). The crop was grown under field conditions and GABA was applied at 0.00, 0.25, 0.50, 1.00 and 2.00 mgL-1 as foliar spray at 18 days after sowing (DAS). It was found that the plant growth characters such as leaf area index, dry weight of leaf, shoot and root, and crop growth rate increased appreciably due to application of GABA as recorded at 40, 50, 60 and 70 DAS. Its effect was more prominent at 40 and 70 DAS than 50 and 60 DAS. At 80 DAS, dry matter of different plant parts and seed yield were greatly influenced by the plant growth regulator (PGR). Higher increase in all parameters was corroborated with higher concentration of the PGR up to 1.00 mg L-1. The highest growth of leaf, shoot, root and pod and seed yield were achieved with 1.00 mg L-1, which was followed by 2.00, 0.50 and 0.25 mg L-1. So, GABA at 1.00 mg L-1 was noted as the best treatment to increase growth characters and seed yield of blackgram.
