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Plant Science Today (PST)

Research Articles

Vol. 13 No. sp5 (2026): Recent Advances in Agriculture

Nutrified growing media consortia with biocontrol agents enhance growth, physiological traits and flowering of tuberose [Agave amica (Medik.)] cv. Arka Prajwal

DOI
https://doi.org/10.14719/pst.16189
Submitted
18 June 2026
Published
15-09-2026

Abstract

Tuberose [Agave amica (Medik.)] cv. Arka Prajwal is a commercially important ornamental bulbous crop, yet suboptimal growing media constrain its productivity under pot culture. This study evaluated the influence of nutrified enriched growing media consortia comprising organic amendments (farmyard manure, vermicompost, cocopeat) combined with biocontrol agents-Trichoderma viride, Pochonia chlamydosporia and Purpureocillium lilacinum at 50 g pot-¹ on the growth, flowering and physiological traits (total chlorophyll and phenol content) of tuberose under pot culture conditions. A completely randomised design (CRD) with 17 treatments and 3 replications were employed, with fluopyram 34.48 % suspension concentrate (SC) at 0.1 % as the chemical check. Among all the treatments, T11 (red soil + farmyard manure  + vermicompost 1 : 1 : 1 + P. chlamydosporia at 50 g pot-¹) recorded maximum plant height (61.17 cm), leaf area index (2.71), chlorophyll content (1.61 mg g-¹) and phenol content (2.72 mg g-1), spike length (91.70 cm), weight of florets per pot (95.22 g) and days to last floret withering (16.00 days). Principal component analysis identified spike length, weight of florets per pot and days to last floret withering as the primary determinants of treatment-level variation in tuberose productivity. Correlation analysis revealed strong associations between vegetative vigour and floral quality traits. The bio-organic consortia consistently outperformed both the untreated control and chemical standard, demonstrating their potential as sustainable, eco-friendly alternatives to conventional red soil-based cultivation for commercial pot-culture production of tuberose.

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