Economics of growing softwood grafts of Nutmeg (Myristica fragrans Houtt.) on different potting media

Abstract

Potting media plays an important role in the growth of any horticultural crop in the nursery. In Nutmeg (Myristica fragrans Houtt.), both nutmeg (kernel) and mace are used as condiments particularly in sweet foods, baking, etc. Softwood grafting is a commercially adopted propagation method followed in nutmeg. However, the growth of such grafts in the nursery is slow and takes more time to attain a salable stage. This increases the maintenance cost during the nursery stage. Hence, it is necessary to find out the solution to hasten the growth to reduce the maintenance cost. In this context, the potting medium is one of the most important and responsible inputs for uniform and vigorous graft growth. It helps to produce quality planting material on a large scale and get good market value. With this view the experiment on the effect of potting media on the growth of softwood grafts of nutmeg was laid out at College of Horticulture, Dapoli during the year 2018. The six different media were replicated four times in Randomized Block Design. The different media combinations namely T1: Soil + FYM + Sand (2:1:1) (Control),T2:Soil + FYM + Sand (2:1:1) with 1” cocopeat at top, T3: Soil + Vermicompost + Sand (2:1:1) with 1” Cocopeat at top, T4: Soil + FYM + Vermicompost + Sand (1:1:1:1) with 1” Cocopeat at top, T5:Soil + FYM + Vermicompost + Rice husk (1:1:1:1) with 1” Cocopeat at top, T6: Soil + FYM + Vermicompost + Cocopeat (1:1:1:1) were tried.