Growth response of Salacia reticulata (Kothalahimbatu) seedlings to different rates of Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium.

Abstract

Effective fertilization, due to its practical implication, plays a key role in the development of agro-technological packages for the species which have high demand in the market. Salacia reticulate (Kothalahimbutu), a woody shrub belonging a family Hippocrataceae has an increasing demand due to its wide range of medicinal uses. The present investigations were carried out to study the effect of Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium on the growth of Salacia reticulata seedlings. The growth response to N, P and K were assesses in three separate post experiments. Uniform, disease and pest- free seedlings. Uniform, disease and pest free seedlings were planted in poly bags filled with apotting mixture of river sand, top soil and compost (1:1:1 by volume). Recommended fertilizer mixture for Tea seedlings were served as the control (T5) while in other treatments the N,P and K levels in the fertilizer mixture were increased by 5% (T1), 10% (T2), 15% (T3) and 20% (t4) using urea, CSP and MOP respectively. The growth of the seedlings was assessed monthly by measuring the plant height and counting the number of leaves. CRD was used with 10 replicates. Results revealed that the height increase in P treated seedlings was significantly (p £ 0.05) higher than that of the control at the end of first month. However, no significant (p £ 0.05) differences in plant height were found among different N and K treatments. Results also revealed that growth response to the added fertilizer was more pronounced in first four weeks than the second month. Findings must be confirmed by the investigations carried out under field conditions.