Assessment of growth performance of Melia composita seedlings in response to various soil amendments
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Date
2024
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Punjab Agricultural University
Abstract
The present investigation entitled “Assessment of growth performance of Melia composita seedlings in response to various soil amendments” was carried out in the main experimental area, Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab. In the present study, seeds of M. composita collected from phenotypically superior trees were sown in polybags in the month of February 2023. The seedlings were established in a Completely Randomized Design with three replications and were treated with nine treatments [T1-Control, T2-Inorganic (100:50:25 mg/kg of soil N:P:K), T3-50% inorganic (50:25:12.5mg/kg of soil N:P:K), T4-Jeevamrit (1000lit/ha=0.45ml/kg of soil), T5-VAM (4g/kg of soil), T6-Microbial consortium (4g/kg of soil), T7-50% inorganic (50:25:12.5 mg/kg of soil N:P:K) + 50% Jeevamrit, T8-50% inorganic (50:25:12.5 mg/kg of soil N:P:K) + 50% VAM and T9-50% inorganic (50:25:12.5 mg/kg of soil N:P:K) + 50% microbial consortium] in the month of April. The observations were recorded for various growth and physiological parameters at an interval of two months i.e., May, July and September. However, the biomass parameters were evaluated at the end of the experiment. The soil parameters were recorded twice; at the initiation and termination of the experiment. The results revealed that all the growth, biomass and physiological characteristics showed significant differences in response to varied soil amendments except collar diameter, number of branches, DQI, total soluble sugars and chlorophyll b. Further, the analysis of variance indicated significant variations for nutrient content in plant leaves and soil media in response to different soil amendments, except for phosphorus content (leaves), electrical conductivity and available nitrogen in soil. On the basis of overall mean performance, treatment T9 i.e., 50% inorganic (50:25:12.5 mg/kg of soil N:P:K) + 50% microbial consortium, showed maximum mean values for majority of the growth and biomass characters. Among physiological traits, T4 i.e., Jeevamrit (1000lit/ha=0.45ml/kg of soil) exhibited the highest mean values for starch content, while T7 i.e., 50% inorganic (50:25:12.5 mg/kg of soil N:P:K) + 50% Jeevamrit demonstrated the highest mean values for chlorophyll a, total chlorophyll, and carotenoid content. Nutrient analysis revealed that treatment T5 i.e., VAM (4g/kg of soil) displayed maximum mean value for Nitrogen (%) (leaves) while T7 i.e., 50% inorganic (50:25:12.5 mg/kg of soil N:P:K) + 50% Jeevamrit exhibited maximum mean values for Potassium (%) in plant leaves, organic carbon and available potassium in soil. The maximum mean value for available phosphorus in soil was observed in treatment T8 i.e., inorganic (50:25:12.5 mg/kg of soil N:P:K) + 50% VAM.
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Meenakshi (2024). Assessment of growth performance of Melia composita seedlings in response to various soil amendments (Unpublished M.Sc. thesis). Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab, India.