Author(s): V. KUMAR, V. K. SINGH AND T. RANI

Abstract: Papaya is one of the important fruits being grown in Indo- Gangetic plain and is a good source of vitamin A, riboflavin, thiamin and mineral nutrients. The productivity of papaya is low due to lack of nutrient management. Keeping the view a field experiment was made to evaluate the effect of nitrogen, potassium and their interaction on growth and phenology of papaya cv, Pusa Dwarf. Application of 200g nitrogen pit^-1 increased plant vigour (height and girth). However, N₀ and N₃₀₀ g depicted earlier flowering and fruit set respectively, while application of K₃₀₀ g exhibited significantly greater plant height and delayed flowering along with fruit set and incorporation of K₅₀₀ g per pit showed broader stem girth. Fruit ripening was delayed by both the nutrients providing more time for fruit set. The interaction study revealed that the plant height and stem girth were found significantly maximum for N₂₀₀ K₃₀₀ and N₂₀₀ K₅₀₀ combination respectively, while statistically least values were observed for N₀ K₀ interaction. However, significantly least time taken for first flowering and fruit set was noted for N₀ K₀ treatment, while maximum days observed for N₃₀₀ K₃₀₀.

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