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Plant Science Today (PST)

Research Articles

Vol. 13 No. 4 (2026)

Influence of paper mill biosolids-amended growing media on growth and flowering of chrysanthemum

DOI
https://doi.org/10.14719/pst.16438
Submitted
30 June 2026
Published
11-10-2026 — Updated on 20-10-2026
Versions

Abstract

The present study evaluated the influence of potting media formulated with paper mill biosolids (PMBS), carbonised rice husk and vermicompost (M1–M4), combined with three levels of vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhiza (VAM) inoculation (0, 15 and 30 g pot-1), on the growth and flowering of pot chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat.) cv. Givilando Pink. Media x VAM interaction significantly influenced vegetative growth, biomass and flowering, with M2V3 and M3V3 producing the highest number of branches (7.25 and 7.20), shoot dry weight (9.72 and 10.12 g), root dry weight (2.04 and 2.05 g) and flowers per plant (20.50 and 20.12, respectively); M3V3 also produced the largest flowers (4.90 cm). Independent of this interaction, leaf area and soil plant analysis development (SPAD) value was highest under the M2 and M3 media, while root colonisation (82.50 %) and dehydrogenase activity (71.00 µg TPF g-1 soil hr-1) were maximised at the 30 g pot-1 VAM level. These results establish potting media containing 60–70 % PMBS with VAM inoculation at 30 g pot-1 as a sustainable, locally available and effective alternative to red soil for pot chrysanthemum production, offering a practical route to valorise an underused paper-industry waste stream.

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