Bhutia, Nangsol DM., YogeshShadap, Arwankie2022-10-142022-10-142022-09-12https://krishikosh.egranth.ac.in/handle/1/5810188906Cherry tomato (Solanum lycopersicumL. var. cerasiforme(Dunnal) A. Gray) is the most commonly used salad vegetable crop having high export demand. The availability of superior hybrid planting material and farm inputsmakes the cultivation operation more successful by resulting in a higher quantity of quality yield. Owing to recombination and segregation in hybrids, it is not recommended to grow the hybrid seeds beyond one season. Therefore, an alternative approach must be explored to produce true to type plants. Vegetative propagation is one such approach that can resolve the problem of segregation as well as can cut down the input cost incurred for purchase of hybrid seeds, thereby reducing the financial burden on farmers. With this background, the present investigation entitled, “Standardization of root promoters, media and NPK levels for maintenance of hybrid vigour through side shoots cutting in hybrid cherry tomato [Solanum lycopersicum L. var. cerasiforme (Dunnal) A. Gray]” was conducted in the poly house complex, Dept. of Vegetable Science, College of Horticulture and Forestry, CAU, Pasighat, Arunachal Pradesh in the year 2021-2022 using G2 x G7 (F1 hybrid) of cherry tomato to find out best root promoter and media combination for inducing rooting in pruned side shoot cuttings of cherry tomato, optimum NPK level required for cultivation of vegetatively propagated hybrid cherry tomato and compare the performance of vegetatively propagated cherry tomato with seedling plant.The study on the influence of two factorsviz. root promoter like IBA (50 ppm, 100 ppm, 150 ppm, 200 ppm, 250 ppm and 300 ppm), NAA (50 ppm, 100 ppm, 150 ppm, 200 ppm and 250 ppm) and cow urine (25% and 50%) and rooting media [Soil + FYM (1:1), Sand+ FYM (1:1) and Cocopeat + FYM (1:1)] on rooting and survival of cuttings revealed that the root promoters significantly influenced the root parameters and survival percentage of treated side shoot cuttings. The highest number of roots (95.56), longest root (15.03 cm) and maximum fresh weight (1629.44 mg), dry weight (219.33 mg) and survival percentage (74.22%) were observed in cuttings treated with IBA 150 ppm.Among the three different media used, the maximum number of roots was observed in cocopeat + FYM (1:1) (65.18) whereasthe longest root length (10.29 cm), highest fresh weight (1373.21 mg), highest dry weight (170.23 mg) and maximum survival percentage were recorded from media soil + FYM (1:1). The combination of IBA 150 ppm with media soil + FYM (1:1) gave the maximum survival percentage (85.33%), the longest root length (20.52 cm), the highest fresh and dry weight (1690 mg and 240 mg). The effect of different levels of NPK on growth and yield of vegetatively propagated cherry tomato was observed by treating them with recommended dose of NPK fertilizers at five levels [T1 – 50% recommended dose of NPK, T2 – 75% recommended dose of NPK, T3 – 100%recommended dose of NPK, T4 – 125% recommended dose of NPK and T5 – without NPK (control)]. The treatments significantly influenced the growth, yield and quality parameters of vegetatively propagated cherry tomato. The experiment results showed that T4recorded maximum plant height (1.16 m, 2.09 m, 2.71 m and 3.11 m) at 30, 60, 90 and 120 days after transplanting respectively, and it took minimum number of days for first flowering (18.75), days to first fruit maturity (23.25) and days to first harvest (66.13). The maximum number of clusters per plant (23.25) was recorded in treatment T4. The yield parameters like number of fruits per cluster (9.75), fruit weight (12100 mg), fruit length (23.62 mm), fruit girth (22.27 mm), yield per plant (2.76 kg), yield per plot (27.6 kg) and yield per hectare (61.33 t/ha)was observed highest in treatment T4.The maximum chlorophyll A, chlorophyll B and total chlorophyll content (2.70 mg/g, 2.03 mg/g and 4.73 mg/g, respectively) was recorded in treatment T4. The quality parameters like TSS (8.79°Brix), lycopene (6.68 mg/100g) and ascorbic acid (56.04 mg/100g) were observed maximum in treatment T4. Comparisonof growth and yield of sexually propagated hybrid cherry tomato at 100% RDF with the vegetatively propagated hybrid cherry tomato recorded no significant difference with respect to yield. However, vegetative propagated plants showed early flowering, less number of days to harvest and greater number of clusters per plant compared to the seedlings. From this study, it can be concluded that propagation of hybrid cherry tomato using side shoot cuttings with IBA 150 ppm as root promoter and soil + FYM (1:1) as media with 125% of recommended dose of NPK is a viable approachEnglishThesis