Impact of Vasicine on Growth, physiological traits and Yield of Tomato

Vasicine is a quinazoline alkaloid present in Adulsa. An experiment was conducted to assess the impact of vasicine on growth, photosynthesis and yield of tomato under pot culture. Vasicine was applied as soil application in the form of vigo @ 4 kg acre-1 (50% as basal and 50% at 15 days after transplanting), and as foliar application in the form vigo @ 2 mL L-1 at 15 and 30 DAT and both combined soil and foliar application. Combined application of vasicine in the form of vigo through soil and foliar spray increased leaf area by 16.9% and soluble protein by 24.02% over control. This is on par with foliar application of vigo @ 2 mL L-1 twice at 15 and 30 days after transplanting. Tallest plant (116.56 cm) and longest root length (73.25 cm) were observed in combined soil and foliar application of vasicine. Combined application recorded higher total chlorophyll content (1.34 mg g-1) followed by foliar application (1.18 mg g-1) compared to control (1.09 mg g-1). Combined application of vasicine through soil and foliar recorded the highest fruit yield of 26.23 t ha-1 which is on par with foliar spray of vigo @ 2 mL L-1 (25.68 t ha-1) and least recorded in control (21.52 t ha-1). Vasicine might compose of growth hormones like auxin, gibberellins and cytokinin, which are playing a major role in plant growth and metabolism. Hence, the new biostimulant vasicine showed its positive impact on growth and yield in tomato.