Effect of Soil Reaction and Organic Matter on Germination and Seedling Growth Attributes of Casuarina (Casuarina equisetifolia Forst.)

Abstract

The present investigation is an attempt to study the effect of soils of different pH and organic matter addition on germination, seedling vigour and chemical attributes of Casuarina equisetifolia and was conducted at Agricultural Engineering College and Research Institute, Kumulur, Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu, India. The seeds were sown in soils with different pH (8.1, 9.0, 10.2 and 10.5) and these different pH soils mixed with sand+ farmyard manure at 2:1:1 ratio were compared with control (red earth + sand + farm yard manure at 2:1:1 ratio). On 22 days after sowing, the results revealed that seeds sown in nursery mixture of soil 8.1 pH + sand + farm yard manure at 2:1:1 ratio gave maximum germination (46.0%) and initial seedling vigour (158). At 180 days, the survival percentage (87.7), root length (26.9 cm) and shoot length (42.6) were higher in seeds sown in nursery mixture of soil 8.1 pH + sand + farm yard manure at 2:1:1 ratio, whereas collar diameter (0.26 cm) and root dry weight (3.39 g) were higher in seeds sown in soil 9.0 pH than rest of the treatments. The chlorophyll (a, b and total) and total nitrogen content of 180 - day old seedlings reflected the same trend as that of biometric observations. The results of the present study concluded that Casuarina equisetifolia seeds sown in soils with higher pH (8.1-10.5) mixed with sand and farmyard manure mixture at 2:1:1 ratio gave better germination, seedling growth and chemical attributes.