Renuka Bhakher, Arvind Verma, S K. Intodia, R.H. Meena, Devendra Jain and R.N. Bunker
Abstract
A field experiment was conducted during 2023-25 and 2025-26 at agronomy instructional farm, Rajasthan College of Agriculture, to evaluate the combined effect of hydrogel and bioregulators on growth parameters of mustard (Brassica juncea L.). The experiment was laid out in a split plot design (SPD) with four levels of hydrogel (0, 10 ,15 and 20 kg/ha) and foliar spray of bioregulators viz., water spray, thiourea at 500 ppm, salicylic acid at 100 ppm, potassium nitrate at 1% and brassinosteroid at 0.5 ppm in subplots. The results revealed that application of 20 kg/ha hydrogel gives highest plant height, dry matter accumulation at harvest, number of branches per plant and growth indices (CGR and RGR) which was closely followed by 15 kg/ha. Among bioregulators, highest at harvest plant height, dry matter accumulation, number of branches per plant and crop growth rate and relative growth rate between 30 â 60 DAS were recorded by application of brassinosteroid 0.5 ppm closely followed by thiourea 500 ppm. The findings highlight the performance of hydrogel and stress-relieving foliar sprays in enhancing physiological resilience, water use efficiency, and mustard productivity in water-constrained environments.