Effects of Chitin Nanofiber on Growth and Yield of Brinjal (Solanum melongena L.)

Brinjal requires the judicious application of fertilizers, particularly nitrogenous fertilizers for its satisfactory yield. A pot (earthen) experiment was conducted at the Field Laboratory of Agrotechnology Discipline, Khulna University, Khulna, to investigate the effect of chitin nanofiber (CNF) on the growth and yield of ‘Pritam F1 Hybrid’ brinjal during summer in 2024. The experiment consisted of five treatments: control (water), urea (recommended dose), 0.005% CNF, 0.01% CNF, and 0.02% CNF, and replicated five times using a completely randomized design. The highest leaf chlorophyll content index (93.93), number of secondary branches (14.80), fruit length (8.07 cm), and fruit shape index (2.98) were measured for 0.02% CNF. The highest (69.00 cm) plant height was measured from 0.01% CNF, and the maximum (68.20) leaf number was counted from 0.005% CNF. The maximum (9.20) primary branches were recorded for the urea application. Among the treatments, 0.01% CNF resulted in statistically similar plant height, leaf chlorophyll content index, flower cluster with urea. The suboptimal growth and yield of brinjal during the study may have been partly associated with the prevailing unfavorable weather conditions, particularly extreme temperature (35–45 °C) and excessive rainfall (>50 mm). These environmental stresses may have reduced the effectiveness of the urea and CNF, thereby contributing to the suboptimal growth and yield observed in the present study. Further investigations under control and diverse environmental conditions are warranted to elucidate the influence of CNF application on the agronomic potential of brinjal production.