Productivity and quality of olitorius jute seed produced in red and laterite zone at Paschim Medinipur of West Bengal

Abstract

Field experiment was conducted for two consecutive years (2008-2009) at the Red and Laterite Zone of West Bengal (Paschim Medinipur) to study the feasibility of producing olitorius jute seed and assessing the quality of the seed produced. The jute seed yield for 5 olitorius varieties varied between 481 kg/ha (cv. JRO 204) and 125 kg/ha (cv. JRO 524) which were comparatively lower in general for olitorius jute seed productivity, might be due to poor inherent soil condition (organic carbon 2.2 g/kg, pH 5.1) and lower soil fertility (available N 175, P2O5 22.2 and K2O 130.3 kg/ha). S 19 and JRO 204 varieties produced higher amount of bold seed (> 1.20 mm). The germination percentage of all the tested varieties was far more than the prescribed minimum level of 80%. Speed of germination was the highest in S 19 and lowest in JRO 128. The electrical conductivity of seed leachates varied between 0.151 dSm-1 (JRO 8432) and 0.168 dSm-1 (JRO 128). The oil content (%) in the produced jute seeds was 10.2 to 12.1%. The maximum vigour index was for JRO 204 variety and the values were 1965 for bold, 1344 for medium and 1045 for small sized categories. Depression of vigour index due to small seed size was the maximum in JRO 8432 (73.4%) followed by JRO 128 (68%).