JOURNAL of Soil Biology and Ecology

Effect of low- cost nursery mixtures on the production of mulberry saplings

Authors: K. ASHA RAJ

Abstract:

An experiment was conducted at Vellanikkara (Kerala) to test the efficacy and economics of vermicompost and coir pith compost as alternate nursery mixture ingredients in different proportions, for raising quality mulberry saplings. The experiment was laid out in a completely randomised design with 13 treatments involving different combinations of potting materials; soil, coir pith compost (CC), FYM and vermicompost (VC) in different ratios (1:1, 2:1, 2:1:1, 3:1:1 and 4:1:1) and compared with the conventional nursery mixture of soil, sand, FYM in 2:1:1 ratio. Sprouting and survival percentage of saplings, shoot length, the number of leaves and total dry matter production/plant were comparatively higher in the medium consisting of soil, VC and CC in a 2:1:1 ratio as compared to other treatments. This could be attributed to the improved soil properties, better nutrient status, and hormonal growth effects contributed by the proper combination of soil, VC and CC in a 2:1:1 ratio that facilitated proper root and shoots growth. The cost of raising saplings was reduced by 40% for the above mixture than the conventional one. The study thus indicated that the use of coir pith compost and vermicompost constitute an attractive alternative to sand and FYM in plant nurseries due to the observed improvement in plant quality as well as low production cost. Converting coir pith and other organic wastes, which possess environmental problems, into good quality manure can reduce the twin problems of environmental pollution and waste management and can also alleviate the problem of raw material scarcity in nurseries.

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