~ 1958 ~ International Journal of Chemical Studies 2019; 7(6): 1958-1963 P-ISSN: 2349–8528 E-ISSN: 2321–4902 IJCS 2019; 7(6): 1958-1963 © 2019 IJCS Received: 22-09-2019 Accepted: 24-10-2019 Avinash Sharma Ph.D. Scholar (Veg Science), RVSKVV, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India Manoj Kumar Kureel Assistant Professor, (Horticulture), RVSKVV, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India Hariom Sharma Ph.D. (Entomology), JNKVV, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, India DS Mandloi Prog Asstt (Horti), RVSKVV, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India Corresponding Author: Avinash Sharma Ph.D. Scholar (Veg Science), RVSKVV, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India Effect of foliar application of boron, zinc and manganese on growth of potato ( Solanum tuberosum) Cv Kufri Chipsona – 1 under Gwalior climatic conditions Avinash Sharma, Manoj Kumar Kureel, Hariom Sharma and DS Mandloi Abstract The present experiment was conducted during 2018-19 at the nursery area Deptt. Of Horticulture, College of Agiculture, Gwalior, (M.P.). The experiment was laid out in Randomized Block Design (RBD) with three replications. Each replication consisted of 8 treatments of Boron, Zinc, Manganese and their combinations. The treatments were applied as foliar application in different doses. All the treatments were randomized separately in each replication. The variety Kufri Chipsona – 1 was selected for the experiment. The observations were recorded on different aspects of growth of the potato crop. The results revealed that out of the 8 treatments, the treatments T6 (Boron + Manganese), T7 (Zinc + Manganese) and T8 (Boron + Zinc+ Manganese) recorded highest plant height (cm), number of leaves, length of leaves and diameter of stem (cm). Keywords: Foliar application, boron, zinc, manganese, Solanum tuberosum Introduction Potato (Solanum tubrosum L.) is widely grown in India. It belongs to family Solanaceae. The area and production of potato in India is 2151 thousand hectare and 48237 Mt respectively and in Gird region of Madhya Pradesh area and production of potato is 111.06 thousand hectare and 2425 Mt respectively (NHB 2016-2017). It occupies first position in area as well as in production among the vegetable crops in India. Potato provides carbohydrates, minerals and fibre. The protein is as comparable to that of milk and egg. Potato is known as protective food because potato is rich in lysine which is one of the most important amino acids. Potato provides a part of daily caloric needs of human and delivers many essential nutrients and vitamins including potassium, phosphorus, manganese, magnesium, folate, vitamin C and vitamine B-6 (Haynes et al., 2012) [15] . Potato contains water (74.7- 75%), sugar and starch (22.9%), fat (0.1%), minerals, vitamins (0.6%) and one of the richest sources of starch and protein (1.21-2%). (Anonymous, 2008) [4] . Potatoes provide higher dry matter and yield per unit area in comparison with other crops such as cereals, therefore potato is considered as a heavy nutrient requiring crop (Bari et al., 2001) [7] . Potato is considered a heavy nutrient requiring crop because of its bulk yield within a short growing season. There are 16 essential elements required for plant growth and reproduction (Stark and Westermann, 2003) [39] . Some are required in relatively large amounts (called macronutrients) while others are required in small quantities (called micronutrients). Although micronutrients are used in smaller quantities, they are just as important as the macronutrients. Among these, boron and zinc play pivotal role in pollination and fruit development. Micronutrient management is a critical component for successful potato production. Micronutrient deficiencies can occur mu et al., 2014) [30] . In potato cultivation some minor plant nutrients like in the high pH soils. On sandy loam soils, soil or foliar applied micronutrients may produce added benefits for potato production under irrigated condition. Selection of an effective application method may also increase the use of efficiency of a specific micronutrient. Potato plants require micronutrients to produce optimum yield (Mur Zn, B can help in increasing the foliage at initial stage of growth and in the later stages, the translocation of assimilates is responsible for higher yield (Trehan and Grewal, 1981; Mondal et al., 1993) [26, 42] .