Growth and yield of broccoli (Brassica oleracea L. var. italica) impacted by seedling age and mulching materials

The experiment was conducted at the Horticulture Farm of the Department of Horticulture, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh to explore the influence of seedling age and mulching materials on growth and yield of broccoli. The experiment consisted of three seedling ages viz., 21, 28, 35 days and five mulching materials viz., control (Non-mulch), black polythene, rice straw, water hyacinth and white polythene. The experiment was laid out following randomized complete block design with three replications. Results showed that the highest plant height (34.91 cm), number of leaves (15.81), yield (12.19 t/ha) were recorded in 35-day-old seedling (A3 treatment). Among the mulching treatments, the highest plant height (33.55 cm), number of leaves (16.66), yield (11.11 t/ha) were recorded under black polythene mulch (T2 treatment) while non-mulch control condition (T1 treatment) performed inferior on most of the studied parameters. Regarding the combined effects of seedling age and mulching materials, it was observed that maximum number of leaves (16.80) and highest plant height (36.58 cm). Maximum diameter of primary curd (15.60 cm), minimum days to curd initiation (64.39 days after transplanting), weight of primary curd (410.31 g), fresh weight of leaves (745.33 gm), dry matter of primary curd (19.43%), yield (13.41 t/ha) were obtained from A3T2 treatment (35-day-old seedling with black polythene) and the lowest were recorded from A1T1 (21-day-old seedling with non-mulch control condition) treatment. It was found that 35-day-old seedling with black polythene performed superior on plant growth and yield of broccoli whereas the lowest results obtained from 21-day-old seedling with non-mulch control condition. However, it can be concluded that the highest production of broccoli is obtained from 35-day-old seedling and black polythene mulch.