Effectiveness of Foliar Application of Zinc, Iron and Boron on Growth and Yield of Sponge Gourd (Luffa cylindrica L.)

Cucurbits, a familiar name that is given to a number of crop vegetable belongs to cucurbitaceae family. Sponge gourd possesses its own value among all the cucurbitaceous vegetables. Sponge gourd is an important cucurbit crop extensively cultivated in Pakistan. Micronutrients well-known to act as stimulant in stimulating organic reactions that taking place in plants and also develop the plant condition. Micronutrients application can increase the resistance of plants against environmental pressure. Foliar propagation is an efficient form for the application of certain micronutrients, as they use in small amount. The present research was carried out to evaluate the effects of micronutrients such as iron, zinc and boron on growth and yield of sponge gourd (Luffa cylindrica L) at Vegetable Research Area, Institute of Horticultural sciences, University of Agriculture Faisalabad. Research was accompanied subsequent Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with 3 replications, each replication contained 30 plants and each treatment contain 3 plants. The results regarding the growth of sponge gourd were found significant. The treatment T4 (0.75g foliar spray of Boron) found best for fruit diameter (14.45mm), fruit length (26.3cm) as compare to control treatment (without foliar spray). Zinc and Iron also increase the fruit length and fruit diameter. Data pertaining the yield traits. Fruit yield per plant (1.75 kg per plant), average fruit weight (170.09gm), number of fruits per plant (9.66), fruit set percentage% (75.26 %) and male and female flower ratio of sponge gourd were found significant for the foliar application of Zinc, Iron and Boron