Impact of cow urine and biofertilizers on rooting of mulberry cuttings under shed net condition

Abstract

The study entitled "Impact of cow urine and biofertilizers on rooting of mulberry cuttings under shed net condition" was carried out during 2024-25 at the Horticulture Nursery, Department of Fruit Science, College of Agriculture, Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalaya, Raipur (Chhattisgarh). The experiment followed a Completely Randomized Design (CRD), comprising thirteen treatments with three replications each. Thirteen treatments were formulated as follows: T₀ - control, T₁ - cow urine @5 ml/kg of rooting media, T₂ - cow urine @10 ml/kg of rooting media, T₃ - PSB @ 5 ml/kg of rooting media, T₄ - PSB @ 10 ml/kg of rooting media, T₅ - Azotobacter @ 5 ml/kg of rooting media, T₆ - Azotobacter @ 10 ml/kg of rooting media, T₇ - cow urine @ 2.5 ml/kg + PSB @ 2.5 ml/kg of rooting media, T₈ - cow urine @ 5 ml/kg + PSB @ 5 ml/kg of rooting media, T₉ - cow urine @ 10 ml/kg + PSB @ 10 ml/kg of rooting media, T₁₀ - cow urine @ 2.5 ml/kg of rooting media + Azotobacter @ 2.5 ml/kg of rooting media, T₁₁ - cow urine @ 5 ml/kg + Azotobacter @ 5 ml/kg of rooting media and T₁₂ - cow urine @ 10 ml/kg + Azotobacter @ 10 ml/kg of rooting media. Among all treatment combinations T₉ (cow urine @ 10 ml/kg + PSB @ 10 ml/kg) exhibited superior performance in all root growth parameters. This treatment resulted in the highest root development, with a root length of 19.66 cm, root diameter of 1.98 mm and the highest number of primary (7.67) and secondary (11.05) roots. It also produced the highest fresh (5.50 g) and dry weight (3.50 g) of roots. Based on these findings T₉ can be considered the most effective for enhancing root development in mulberry cuttings.