Nourishing plant health and growth through the application of nutrients and plant growth regulator mixture in tomato

A pot culture experiment was conducted to investigate the influence of foliar application of nutrients and plant growth regulators (PGRs) on the growth and physiological attributes of tomatoes. The trial was carried out at the Department of Crop Physiology, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, India. Various nutrient-PGR combinations (T1-T9) were applied at two distinct developmental stages: 25 and 50 days after transplanting (DAT). The growth traits, including plant height, number of branches, leaf area and total dry matter production (TDMP), showed significant variation in response to the foliar application of the nutrient-PGR mixture. In addition, several physiological parameters, such as the chlorophyll index and chlorophyll fluorescence, exhibited notable differences among the treatments. In conclusion, the application of Tomato Booster II (T8), a foliar nutrient-PGR mixture containing nitrogen(N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), manganese (Mn), copper (Cu), naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) and salicylic acid (SA), significantly enhanced plant growth. This was evidenced by increased plant height (34.1 cm and 67.2 cm) and leaf area (265.89 cm² and 1448.55 cm² plant?¹) at 30 and 60 P, respectively. Additionally, plants treated with Tomato Booster II (T8) showed improved root development, characterized by a substantial increase in total root length (4402.86 cm), root volume (58.9 cm³) and root surface area (1807.84 cm²). Moreover, T8-treated plants exhibited a significant increase in spectral reflectance, indicative of enhanced photosynthetic efficiency, reaching a maximum of 81.8% following two foliar applications. These results suggest that Tomato Booster II (T8) is a promising nutrient-PGR mixture for enhancing tomato growth and development.