Influence of Nutrients and Biostimulants Application on Success Percentage, Leaf Nutrient Status and Physiological Traits of Acid Lime (Citrus aurantifolia Swingle) Seedlings cv. Kagzi

Abstract

An experiment was conducted during the year 2023-2024 at Fruit Research Station, Imaliya, Department of Horticulture, JNKVV, Jabalpur. It was laid out in 5 x 3 Factorial Completely Randomized Design (FCRD) with the 18 treatment combinations having 3 replications. Factor-A consist of 5 levels of  inorganic fertilizers (F0- (Control) Soil: Sand: FYM, F1- NPK (19:19:19) @ 1 %, F2-Mono potassium phosphate (0:52:34) @ 1 %, F3-Potassium nitrate (13:0:45) @ 1 %, F4-Urea phosphate (17:44:0) @ 1 % and F5-Potassium sulphate (0:0:50) @ 1 %) and Factor-B with 3 level of bio-stimulants ( B0-Panchagava @10 ml/L, B1-Sagarika @ 3ml/L and B2-Krishi Shakti @10ml/L). This experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of NPK fertilization alone or in combination with other bio-stimulants on Acid Lime seedling development and vigour to quickly produce viable and healthy seedlings. On the basis of the observation obtained in the present investigation, it is concluded that among the inorganic fertilizers (Factor- A), the treatment F1 (NPK (19:19:19) @ 1%) proved superior over all treatments followed by F4 (Urea phosphate (17:44:0) @ 1%). Among bio-stimulants (Factor-B), treatment B2 (Krishi shakti) performed best over other treatments followed by B1 (Sagarika). The treatment F1B2 (NPK (19:19:19) @ 1% + Krishi shakti) in combination was proved superior over rest of the treatment for the parameters like maximum success percentage (100%, 96% and 96%), CGR (0.38 gm-2day-1 and 0.48 gm-2day-1), RGR (0.022 g/g/day and 0.049 g/g/day ), NAR (0.00155 g/m2/day and 0.0024 g/m2/day), Leaf area index (LAI) (0.51, 0.87 and 1.33) and Leaf area Duration (LAD) (191.80 and 226.80) at 60, 90 and 120 DAP. The treatment combination F1B1 (NPK (19:19:19) @ 1 % + Sagarika) was found next best treatment in this respect. The treatment F1B2 (NPK (19:19:19) @ 1% + Krishi Shakti) was superior for nitrogen content in leaves (1.63%), treatment F2B2 (Mono Potassium Phosphate (0:52:34) @ 1% + Krishi Shakti) for phosphorus content in leaves (0.77%) and F3B2 (Potassium Nitrate (13:0:45) @ 1% + Krishi Shakti) for potassium content in leaves (1.99%) of acid lime seedling.