Nutrient Management practices for Heliconia under open condition and as intercrop in coconut garden
| dc.contributor.advisor | Sheela, V L | |
| dc.contributor.author | Nihad, K | |
| dc.contributor.author | KAU | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2019-07-02T05:52:08Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2019-07-02T05:52:08Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2013 | |
| dc.description | PhD | en_US |
| dc.description.abstract | Heliconias (Heliconia spp.) are attractive tropical plants grown for their beautiful, brilliant, long lasting colorful inflorescences. Among the Heliconias, Heliconia stricta cv. Iris Red is a commercial variety with high market value due to its unique crimson coloured bracts with a definite shape. They grow well in soils rich in organic matter with full sunlight to 40% shade, but little is known about its nutrient management practices when grown under monocropped or intercropped conditions especially in low fertile soils with less water holding capacity. Hence two experiments on Heliconia stricta cv. Iris Red as intercrop in coconut garden (Experiment I) and as monocrop in open condition (Experiment II) were laid out in RBD for a period of two years during 2010- 2012 with five treatments and four replications in Central Plantation Crops Research Institute (Regional Station), Kayamkulam, Kerala State. The present investigation was to standardize a manurial schedule for enhancing production and quality of Heliconia flowers when grown under same nutrient management practice in two cropping systems. This also aimed at comparing the quality and vase life of flowers grown under different conditions and thereby standardizing an integrated nutrient recommendation suitable for each system of cropping. In both the experiments growth parameters such as plant height, number of suckers and number of leaves were significantly higher in treatment supplied with 5 g NPK @ 13:5:13kg/ha (T2 ) which was on par with the treatment supplied with Vermicompost (VC) @ 200g/plant +Neemcake (NC) @ 100g/plant (T3). The values were higher for plants grown under coconut canopy than in open condition. The physiological characters like leaf area, LAI, specific leaf area, leaf area duration and leaf area density were also higher in T3 and T2 under both the systems of cropping. All the parameters except leaf area density were higher in plants under intercropped condition. In experiment I and II, treatment T3 took the lowest number of days for first flowering (172.8 and 280.3 respectively) whereas T2 took the longest time to start flowering (295 and 362.5 days respectively). There was no significant difference among the treatments in time taken for fifty percent flowering under intercropped condition, whereas in open condition, T2 plants took the longest (459.8 days) and T3 plants the shortest (370.0days) duration .to attain fifty percent flowering. The stages from fully emerged or just opened (Stage II ) to complete unfurling of bracts (Stage III) and the life of fully opened flower in plant (Stage III to IV) was more in intercropped condition (23.3 to 38.5 days) than in monocropped condition (17.05 days to 27.3 days).In both the experiments, T3 recorded the highest longivity followed by T2. The inflorescence characters such as length, number of bracts, stem length and stem diameter were more under intercropped condition. Superior quality flowers were produced in T3 under both the systems of planting. In intercropped condition T2 and T5 (VC @ 100g/plant +NC @ 50g/plant + 2.5 g NPK @ 13:5:13kg/ha) plants also produced such flowers. The fresh weight of fully opened inflorescence was significantly higher in T3 and T5 under both the systems of planting. In the visual appeal test, the total score for the inflorescences produced in the intercropped area was higher and T3 scored the highest value under both the experiments. T3 plants recorded the highest wax, caroteniod content, carotenoid- chlorophyll ratio and vase life(12.9 days and 10.5 days respectively ) in experiment I and II. The highest leaf chlorophyll and wax content was recorded in T3 plants under both the systems of planting. The leaf nutrient content such as N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Fe, Mn and Zn was the highest in T3 plants under both systems of cropping condition. The plant uptake of N and P was the highest in T2 plots of the intercropped area, whereas, T4 recorded the highest uptake in open condition. T2 recorded the highest K uptake in both the experiments. The lowest N and K uptake was in T3 plots. The treatment supplied with VC and NC (T3) recorded significantly higher P, Ca, Mg and Fe content of soil in both the systems of planting. In both the experiments, T2 recorded significantly higher K values (20.6ppm and 20.0ppm respectively). In both the experiments, T3 produced the highest number of marketable flowers and suckers. Among the treatments T5 recorded the highest land equivalent ratio (1.49) followed by T3 (1.43), T2 and T4 (1.4) and T1 (1.39). The nutrient balance sheet for N, P and K was higher in T3 under both the cropping situations. In general, the nutrient balance for P and K was more in monocropped condition. Growing Heliconia as an intercrop had a positive impact on coconut yield and yield parameters during the two seasons of growth period June and December (2010-2011). The leaf nutrient content of coconut was found to increase gradually during the period of observations. The present study revealed that Heliconia stricta cv. Iris Red is a potential intercrop in coconut gardens. The plants had a superior vegetative growth and inflorescence production in sandy soils with low nutrient and water holding capacity by supplying cowdung @ 1kg/plant + bonemeal @250 g/plant basally and topdressing equal doses of Vermicompost (VC) @ 200g/plant +Neemcake (NC) @ 100g/plant (T3 ) at quarterly intervals from three months after planting under both the conditions of cropping system. This was followed by the treatment supplying cowdung @ 1kg/plant + bonemeal @250 g/plant basally and topdressing same doses of VC @ 100g/plant +NC @ 50g/plant + 13:5:13NPK@2.5 g/plant (T5 ). . | en_US |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://krishikosh.egranth.ac.in/handle/1/5810111165 | |
| dc.keywords | Cropping situation, Intercropping, Monocropped condition, Effect of nutrition, Sucker production | en_US |
| dc.language.iso | en | en_US |
| dc.publisher | Department of Pomology and Floriculture, College of Agriculture, Vellayani | en_US |
| dc.sub | Horticulture | en_US |
| dc.subject | null | en_US |
| dc.theme | Heliconia | en_US |
| dc.these.type | Ph.D | en_US |
| dc.title | Nutrient Management practices for Heliconia under open condition and as intercrop in coconut garden | en_US |
| dc.type | Thesis | en_US |