Impact of growing media on growth of Mexican carpet grass in commercial trays for terrace gardening

Abstract

Lawn, a fundamental feature in garden landscapes, enhances the aesthetic appeal of both large and small spaces, providing a green backdrop for trees, shrubs, and vibrant flower beds. In addition to recreational use, lawns contribute to erosion control, biodiversity, and offer numerous environmental benefits. Recently, lawns have also been established in terrace gardens, where traditional soil, though common, poses challenges such as heavy weight, weed growth, pest infestations, and disease occurrences. Soil less media, on the other hand, offer advantages like being lightweight, easy to handle, pest-free, and disease-resistant. These attributes make soilless media especially suitable for terrace gardening, as they reduce roof loads and maintain a clean, weed-free environment while being cost-effective. This study was conducted to evaluate the growth of Mexican carpet grass in soilless media for terrace gardening applications. Five soilless media i.e., cocopeat, wood ash, vermiculite, rice hulls, and sand were used individually and in equal combinations, with 17 treatments and 4 replications using soil as the control. Growth, physiological, and biochemical parameters were observed at 30-day intervals from 30 to 120 days after planting (DAP). The results indicated that T1 (Cocopeat) proved as the best performer, followed by T3 (Vermiculite) and T7 (Cocopeat + Vermiculite). Conversely, T4 (Rice hulls) exhibited the poorest growth and establishment among all treatments.