Abstract            Volume:14  Issue-2  Year-2026         Original Research Articles

Online ISSN : 2347 - 3215 Issues : 12 per year Publisher : Excellent Publishers Email : editorijcret@gmail.com

Broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica) is an important cole crop valued for its high nutritional and medicinal properties. Efficient utilization of water is essential for sustainable broccoli production, particularly under rainfed and moisture stress conditions. A field experiment was conducted at the Horticultural Farm of Palli-Siksha Bhavana (Institute of Agriculture), Visva-Bharati, Sriniketan, West Bengal to study the effect of mulches and micronutrients on water use and water use efficiency of broccoli. The experiment revealed that mulching and micronutrient application significantly influenced water use and water use efficiency. Paddy straw mulch @ 7 t ha⁻¹ remarkably reduced water use (201.46 mm) compared to no mulch treatment (276.80 mm), saving about 75.34 mm water. Among micronutrient treatments, Zn @ 1% + B @ 0.5% recorded the lowest water use (228.53 mm) and highest water use efficiency (71.54 kg ha⁻¹ mm⁻¹). The interaction effect showed that paddy straw mulch combined with Zn @ 1% + B @ 0.5% recorded minimum water use (195.50 mm) and maximum water use efficiency (88.54 kg ha⁻¹ mm⁻¹). The study concluded that application of paddy straw mulch along with zinc and boron foliar spray effectively conserved soil moisture and improved water use efficiency in broccoli.

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