Effect of integrated nutrient management on flower quality and physiological parameters of Nerium (Nerium oleander L.)

Abstract

The present experiment was under taken to study the effect of integrated nutrient management approach on flower quality and physiological parameters of Nerium (Nerium oleander L.) at Department of Floriculture and Landscape Architecture, Horticultural College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore. One year old pruned plants of three Nerium cultivars (Red, White and Pink) were planted at a spacing of 3×1m accomodating five plants per plot. Among the parameters studied, under ambient condition, treatment T6 (NPK @ 90:120:120 g/plant/year + Farm Yard Manure + Azospirillum + Phosphobacteria) marked the longest shelf life (4 days) and under cold storage condition, the treatment T8 (NPK @ 90:120:120 g/plant/year + Vermicompost + Azospirillum + Phosphobacteria) and T10 (NPK @ 85:85:85 g/plant/year) had the longest shelf life of 6.9 days. Among all the nutrients, organic manures and their combinations, treatments T7 i.e., NPK 120:160:160 g plant-1 year-1 along with farmyard manure and biofertilizers exhibited better performance with respect to physiological characters viz., leaf area (38.03 cm2), total chlorophyll content (5.560 mg g-1), chlorophyll “a” content (2.864 mg g-1) and chlorophyll “b” content (1.599 mg g-1) and total soluble protein content (132.69 mg g-1) while the highest relative water content of 50.68 mg was recorded in treatment of NPK @ 150:200:200 g/plant/year (T3). Hence the results by the application of inorganic fertilizers combined with organic manures and biofertilizers proved to be a better option for enhancing the flower quality and physiological characters in one year old pruned plants of Nerium (Nerium oleander L.) as compared to the application of inorganic fertilizers alone.