Impact assessment of growing media and bioinoculents on growth and bud take of rough lemon

Abstract

Efficacy of arbuscular microbial inoculations in relation to organic growing media on growth and bud take of citrus nursery were investigated in the current study. Three soil solarized organic growing media Soil, Soil + Farmyard manure and Soil + Vermicompost enriched with bioinoculants Glomus mossae, Gigaspora and Acaulospora, consortium of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and uninoculated was kept as control. The combinational effect of soil + vermicompost enriched with consortium of AMF recorded the maximum seedling height (68 cm), diameter (6.81 mm), number of leaves (94.23) and plant biomass (58.82%). The root growth attributes exhibited maximum length and diameter of tap root (45.88 cm and 7.12 mm respectively) and number of secondary roots (50.02). Total microbial count was also recorded maximum with soil + vermicompost supplemented with consortium of AMF. Kinnow budded on rough lemon rootstock attained maximum budding success (88.73 %) with combinational application of soil + vermicompost fortified with Consortium of AMF. The same combination furthermore registered maximum length (20.04 cm) and diameter (8.73 mm) of sprout, number of leaves (14.61), leaf area (17.00 sq cm), N, P and K content in leaves and roots of Kinnow budlings. The highest N, P and K (1.51, 0.16 and 1.05 % respectively) in roots of budded plants was recorded in soil + vermicompost with consortium of AMF inoculation. The present study established the positive role of organic growing media and potent isolates of AMF on seedling growth and nutrient and bud take of rough lemon seedlings. Soil + vermicompost combined with consortium of AMF was found to be the most promising for raising quality nursery and maximum bud take of Kinnow on rough lemon.