Effect of Integrated Nutrient Management on Growth Parameters of Citronella (Cymbopogon winterianus Jowitt.)

The aim of the study is to identify a suitable nutrient management practice for enhancing the growth characteristics viz. plant height (cm), plant spread (cm), number of tillers per plant and number of leaves per plant of citronella. The study was carried out in Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, Annamalai University, Chidambaram, between 2023-2024. The experiment comprised of 10 treatments each replicated thrice was executed following the principles of Randomized Block Design. They are (T1) 100% RDF (NPK 75:40:40 kg/ha) (Basal Dose N: 25 kg/ha), (T2) 75% RDF+ Vermicompost 5 t/ha, (T3) 75% RDF+ Vermicompost 5 t/ha + Biofertilizer consortium 2 kg/ha, (T4) 75% RDF+ Vermicompost 5 t/ha + Sea weed extract 2%, (T5) 75% RDF+ Goat Manure 5 t/ha, (T6) 75% RDF + Goat Manure 5 t/ha+ Biofertilizer consortium 2 kg/ha, (T7) 75% RDF + Goat Manure 5 t/ha + Sea weed extract 2%, (T8) 75% RDF + FYM 10 t/ha, (T9) 75% RDF + FYM 10 t/ha + Biofertilizer consortium 2 kg/ha and (T10) 75% RDF + FYM 10 t/ha + Sea weed extract 2 % . The data collected were subjected to statistical analysis. This was done by standard procedure of Panse and Sukhatme (1985) and the results were interpreted. The level of significance are used in “F” and “t” tests at P=0.05. Critical differences (CD) were worked out whenever F test was found significant. The WASP 2.0 software was used for the statistical analysis of data. The study showed significant difference in the growth, yield and quality among the different treatments. The highest plant height (cm) (128.30, 131.32 and 132.20), plant spread (cm) (109.80, 112.03 and 115.75), number of tillers per plant (43.78, 45.90 and 48.16), number of leaves per plant (208.46, 212.15 and 210.00) of citronella were recorded with the application of 75% Recommended dose of fertilizer with vermicompost 5 t/ ha and 2% foliar spray of seaweed extract improved the growth, yield and quality of citronella. The application of 75% Recommended dose of fertilizer with vermicompost 5 t/ha and 2% foliar spray of seaweed extract has been identified as the best treatment for maximizing the growth characters of citronella. Hence, could be recommended for satisfactory growth, yield and quality of citronella (Cymbopogon winterianus Jowitt.).