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Abstract

Systematic cultivation with well-developed agronomic practices for selected medicinal herbs involves conservation of wild populations from over harvesting, continuous supply and sustainable utilization. The present research was conducted to find-out the most suitable growing medium and irrigation frequency for commercial cultivation of Piper longum L. For this purpose, six different growing media along with three different irrigation frequencies were used. The experiment was arranged factorially with Completely Randomized Design in triplicates inside a protected plant house under controlled environmental conditions.

Destructive measurements were taken at 12 weeks after planting. In addition, all growing media were analyzed for pH, electrical conductivity, available nitrogen, organic matter, phosphorous, available potassium using three replicates. Data analysis was carried out using analysis of variance with statistical analysis system while Duncan multiple range test was employed for mean separation. Based on the results, interaction effects between growing media and irrigation frequencies were not significant (P≥0.05) for plant height (cm), number of leaves, number of branches and shoot dry weight (g) of P. longum harvested at 12 weeks after establishment. Growing media and irrigation interval were significant on the growth parameters while the highest plant height of 43.3 cm was observed in topsoil: compost -1:1 closely followed by topsoil: sand: compost -1:1:1 (42.2 cm). P. longum grown in topsoil: sand: compost -1:1:1 (V/V) had the highest number of branches (7.6). Further, significantly (P≤0.05) higher number of leaves (43) and shoot dry weight (15.7g) were recorded in topsoil: sand: compost -1:1:1. Irrigation frequencies had no significant (P>0.05) effect on growth parameters of P. longum (Figure 2). Shoot dry weights had no significant difference with the changing irrigation frequency. Based on the composition analysis and growth parameters, top soil: sand: compost (1:1:1) growing media and 9 days irrigation frequency appeared to be the most promising combination for early vegetative growth of P. longum.

Keywords: Composition analysis, Early vegetative growth, Growing media, Irrigation frequency, Piper longum L