INFLUENCE OF DIFFERENT LEVELS OF NITROGEN APPLICATION AND SPACING ON GROWTH AND YIELD OF RADISH (Raphanus sativus L.)

Radish cultivation is largely influenced by lack of Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potash and it has been reported that growth and yield of radish was significantly influenced by application of Nitrogen. The experiment was planned out in Randomized Block Design with four replications and two factors each with three treatments. Three levels of nitrogen (N1 - 80 kg/ha, N2 - 100 kg/ha and N3 - 120 kg/ha) were applied in combination with three plant spacings (S1 – 15 cm x 15 cm, S2 – 20 cm x 15 cm and S3 – 30 cm x 15 cm). The growth characters viz., plant height, leaf count per plant, length of leaf, were significantly improved with the application of 120 kg/ha of nitrogen with 30 cm x 15 cm spacing at all crop growth stages. The treatment T9 (application of 120 kg/ha of nitrogen with 30 cm x 15 cm plant spacing) also resulted in maximum yield, gross return as well as net income and B:C ratio followed by T6 (application of 100 kg/ha of nitrogen with 30 cm x 15 cm spacing). The correlation study has also confirmed a direct correlation of all growth and yield related traits with levels of nitrogen and plant spacings.