Influence of different aged Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus L.) rootstocks on soil and plant nutrient dynamics under varying environmental conditions

Abstract

This study was carried out in 2023 at the Department of Biotechnology and Crop Improvement, College of Horticulture, Kolar, Karnataka to evaluate the effect of different-aged jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus L.) rootstocks on the success of softwood grafting under varied environmental conditions. The experiment followed a factorial completely randomized design with four replications, each containing 10 plants. Results demonstrated that rootstock age and growing environmental conditions significantly influenced nutrient content and chemical characteristics of the growing medium, including pH, EC (dSm-1), total carbon (%), nitrogen (%), phosphorus (%), and potassium (%) and with their interaction. Among all treatments, grafting on 90-day-old rootstocks under polyhouse conditions produced the better graft growth and development performance, while grafting on 15-day-old rootstocks under shade net conditions gave the poorest performance.