Response of Chilli (Capsicum annuum L.) Genotypes with Respect to Different Concentrations of 2, 4-D

The present investigation, carried out during spring-summer season of 2009-10 at Vegetable Research Centre of G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, was aimed to optimize the dose of 2, 4-D used as a plant growth regulator in chilli to find out suitable genotypes assessing the variability of chilli crop occurred in India for cultivating in tarai region of Uttarakhand. The experiment was laid out in a Split Plot Design with three replications where the three levels of 2, 4-D i.e. 0, 2 and 4 ppm were applied in main plots and the 27 genotypes allotted to each main plot as subplot factor in each replication. The observations were recorded for growth and yield attributes viz. plant height, number of primary branches/ plant, fruit length, weight of fruits/plant, number of fruits/plant and fruit yield/ha. Among all the genotypes PC-7, PC-2064, PC-6, PC-4, and CCHO-5-8 performed better for growth and yield attributes and also produced significantly highest fruit yield (325.0, 270.0, 246.3, 246.3 and 240.9 q/ha, respectively) with application of 2, 4-D @ 4ppm . The results showed that 2,4-D @ 4 ppm had marked influence on growth and yield of chilli, followed by 2,4-D @2ppm produced highest fruit yield than check. Significant differences were also observed for genotypes and their interactions in respect of 2, 4-D for all the attributes.