Nutrients and Leaf Plucking Effect on Growth and Yield of Cabbage

The experiment was carried out at the Horticulture Farm of Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Dhaka during September 2016 to December 2016 to find out the growth, yield and economic benefit of cabbage as influenced by nutrients and leaf plucking. The research comprises of two factors: Factor A: NPK nutrients (four levels) as- N0 = control, N1 = N120P30 K100kg ha-1, N2 = N140P 40 K120kg ha-1, N3 = N160P50 K140kg ha-1and Factor B: leaf plucking (three levels) as- L0 = No leaf plucked, L1 = 4-leaves plucked and L2 = 6-leaves plucked. The experiment was set up in randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. In case of nutrients, the highest gross yield (90.53 t ha-1) and marketable yield (68.95 t ha-1) were obtained from N3, while the lowest gross yield (60.26 t ha-1) and marketable yield (44.24 t ha-1) from N0. For dissimilar levels of leaf plucking, the highest gross yield (80.64 t ha-1) and marketable yield (62.08 t ha-1) were recorded from L1, whereas the lowest gross yield (74.13 t ha-1) and marketable yield (56.96 t ha-1) from L0. Due to combined effect, the highest gross yield (94.38 t ha-1) and marketable yield (71.91 t ha-1) were recorded from N3L1, whereas the lowest gross yield (58.75 t ha-1) and marketable yield (41.15 t ha­-1) from N0L0. From the economic point of view, the highest benefit cost ratio (BCR) was2.35 noted from N3L1 and the lowest (1.63) from N0L0. It is evident that the N3L1 gave the best performance for the growth, yield and economic benefit of cabbage. So, N140 P 50 K120kg ha-1 with 4-leaves plucked may be considered as an optimum dose for cabbage production.