Effect of sowing media on quality planting material production of broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica) under Jorhat conditions, Assam (India)

Abstract

An experiment was conducted during 2020-21 and 2021-22 at the Horticulture Experimental Farm, Department of Horticulture, College of Agriculture, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat, Assam, to evaluate the efficacy of different seedling growing media for the production of quality planting material of broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica). The study included seven treatments comprising various combinations of sowing media: Cocopeat: Perlite: Vermiculite (3:1:1), Cocopeat: Perlite: Vermiculite (2:1:1), Cocopeat: Vermicompost (1:1), Vermicompost: Perlite: Vermiculite (3:1:1), Vermicompost: Perlite: Vermiculite (2:1:1), Cocopeat: Vermicompost: Perlite: Vermiculite (1:1:1:1), and a conventional nursery as control. The experiment was laid out in a Randomized Block Design (RBD) with four replications. Among the treatments, T3 (Cocopeat: Vermicompost in a 1:1 ratio) recorded the highest seedling emergence percentage (93.15%), seedling height (17.87 cm), leaf area (9.09 cm²), root length (6.04 cm), shoot length (10.24 cm), seedling growth index (1516.35), and chlorophyll content (0.32 mg g⁻¹ fresh weight). It also showed the shortest time to two-true leaf stage (7.03 days), the earliest transplanting stage (28.55 days), and the lowest disease incidence (3.44%) under greenhouse conditions. Meanwhile, the highest stem diameter (1.85 mm) was observed in T6 (Cocopeat: Vermicompost: Perlite: Vermiculite in a 1:1:1:1 ratio).