Foliar Nutrition in Arecanut (Areca catechu L.)

Arecanut (Areca catechu L.) is economical and culturally important tropical monoecious palm cultivated in India belonging to family Palmae. Successful establishment of commercial plantations depends on the healthy and vigorous growth of seedlings, especially during early developmental stages. Foliar application of essential macro & micro nutrients to arecanut crop during the seedling stage enhances both morphological and physiological development. A nursery-based experiment was conducted to determine foliar Spray concentrations for vigorous arecanut seedling development at College of Horticulture, Dr. BSKKV, Dapoli during 2021-22. The experiment was carried out in randomized block design and consisted of ten treatments. The study aimed to evaluate the effect of different concentrations of foliar-applied NPK (19:19:19), KNO₃ and Ca(NO₃)₂ on the growth performance of arecanut seedlings. The treatment T3 (19:19:19 @ 3%) was found to be effective in promoting growth of arecanut seedlings with better performance.