Studies on the suitability of foliage ornamentals under various shade and nutrient regimes for vertical gardens

Abstract

An investigation was carried out to find the suitability and performance of foliage ornamental plants for vertical garden module under various shade levels and nutrients in the Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, Annamalai University, Annamalai Nagar, Tamil Nadu during the year 2021 to 2023. Three uniform size of foliage ornamentals viz., Coleus blumei, Chlorophytum comosum, and Tradescantia spathacea were selected for the experiment. Plants were kept under three levels of shade conditions viz., Full shade, Partial shade (50% Green shade net) and Full sun and three different nutrient sources viz., fertilizer stick@ 1/pot, Organic granules and DAP granules as factors. The experiment was conducted in factorial completely randomized design (FCRD). The data on number of leaves per plant, leaf length, leaf width were observed 150 days after planting. Among the shade regulation treatments, maximum
number of leaves was recorded under S2 (Partial shade @ 50% green shade net), and maximum leaf length and leaf width was recorded under S1 (Full shade) in all the three plants. Among the nutrient application, maximum number of leaves was recorded in plants inserted with T1 (Fertilizer stick). The results of the combined effect of shade conditions and nutrient application recorded maximum leaf length, leaf width was noticed in T3 × S1 (DAP × Full shade) in all the three plants. However, maximum number of leaves was observed maximum under the treatment combination in T1 × S2 (Fertilizer stick × Partial shade @ 50% green shade net). Hence, from the present experiment, it was observed that, the all the three foliage ornamentals kept under full shade condition showed better results in plant height and leaf size (length and width). However, these plants kept under 50% green shade net recorded for maximum number of leaves.