Effect of Organically Amended Growing Substrates on the Growth and Physiological Attributes of Citrus Plants

摘要

The present experiment was conducted to study the influence of growing substrates on the growth of citrus plants. Rough lemon and Kinnow mandarin were selected as rootstock and scion cultivars, respectively. Eleven potting mixes were assessed along with the control, mixed on a v/v basis. Citrus seedlings cultivated in potting mix growing substrate (GM(11)) (sand + silt + farm yard manure + compost, 1:1:1:1) exhibited better plant development followed by the plants grown in GM(12) (sand + silt + farm yard manure + coconut husk, 1:1:1:1). The saplings cultivated in substrates containing compost and coconut husk having optimum pH of 5.5-7.5 resulted in substantial improvement in horticultural traits and physiological variables when compared with the control. In sum, the growing substrate GM(11) significantly improved the growth and development of citrus saplings due to increased mineral contents, leaf area index, photosynthetic rate (P-N), stomatal conductance (g(s)), and transpiration rate (E) of citrus plants.