Nutrient requirement for bush jasmine (Jasminum sambac Ait.)

Abstract

The investigation "Nutrient requirement of bush jasmine, Jasminum sambac Ait." was conducted at Department of Horticulture, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, Thiruvananthapuram during 1996-'98 inorder to standardise the requirement of major nutrients (N, P and K) for the growth of flowering of bush jasmine. The treatments consisted of factorial combinations of three levels each of nitrogen (50, 100 and 150 kg N ha"), phosphorus (50, 100 and 150 kg P20S ha-I) and potassium (50, 100 and 150 kg ~20 ha") with two controls. The experiment was laid out as 33 + 2 Factorial Randomised Block Design with three replications .. Vegetative characters like the length of main shoot, number of primary and secondary branches, length of primary and secondary branches, North-South and East-West spread of the bush, were significantly higher at the highest level of major nutrients viz., 150 kg N, 150 kg P20S and 150 kg K20 ha'. At the maximum level of major nutrients with 150 kg N : 150 kg P20S : 150 kg K20 ha'", yield of flower buds was found significantly higher. Other flowering characters like monthly yield pattern and weight of hundred flower buds were not found to be influenced by nutritive

2 treatments. However, time taken for opening of lower buds after harvest was maximum at 150 kg P20S ha'". Content of N, P and K in leaves revealed that maximum content of foliar nitrogen noticed at 150 kg N : 50 kg K20 ha! while foliar potassium content was maximum at 50 kg N : 100 kg P20S : 150 kg K20 ha'. Foliar phosphorus content was not at all influenced by nutrient application. Uptake of nutrients was not found to be influenced by applied nutrients where as DMP was maximum at the highest dose of maj or nutrients (150 kg N : 150 kg P20S 150 kg K20 ha"). Available soil nutrient status revealed that maximum content of nitrogen and phosphorus in soil was noticed at 150 kg N : 150 kg P20S and 150 kg K20 ha'". But maximum available potassium was noticed with 50 kg N : 150 kg P20S and 150 kg K20 ha'. Maximum essential oil content was obtained with 100 kg N : 100 kg P20S and 150 kg K20 ha'". Carbohydrate content of flowering shoot was found to be highest with 50 kg N : 150 kg P20S : 150 kg K20 ha-I. In general, highest dose of major nutrients, n3 (150 kg N ha-I), P3 (150 kg P20S ha! and k3 (150 kg K20 ha") was found best for cultivation of bush jasmine. However, as maximum response was shown at respective higher levels of major nutrients, higher levels of these nutrients can be tried to find out optimum nutrient combination for commercial cultivation.