Effect of kinetin spray on growth and productivity of black cumin plants

In field experiments, the test black cumin plants were sprayed with either deionized water (control test) or 10(-5) M kinetin (KIN) at 40 (vegetative stage) or 60 (flowering) days after sowing (DAS). Spraying with KIN at 40 DAS brought about maximum stimulation of all parameters, whereas spraying at 60 DAS was not much effective. All characteristics recorded at 80 DAS (shoot length, leaf number, leaf area, branch number and dry weight per plant, net photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance and leaf chlorophyll content), were significantly enhanced by KIN application. Further, at harvest (130 DAS), capsule number per plant, seed yield per plot, and biomass yield per plot, showed a significant increase over the control traits. However, number of seeds per capsule, 1000-seed weight and harvest index remained unaffected.