Effect of growing media on growth and performance of pothos (Scindapsus aureus L.) under modular biowall system

Introduction

Scindapsus aureus L. is popularly known as Pothos/Money plant/Devil's ivy belongs to the monocot family Araceae. The name was derived from Skindapsos, an ancient Greek name for an ivy-like plant. It is originated to the Southeast Asia and Pacific Islands. Pothos is a low-maintenance, perennial, broadleaved evergreen houseplant and desired for its glossy, green or variegated leaves on cascading stems. Leaves are alternate, ovate, small at juvenile stage, becoming large, lobed or slashed when mature, deep green or splashed or blotched with cream-yellow. It is one of the most preferred house plants throughout the world. It grows 6 to 10 feet as horizontal groundcover but the trailing and climbing vines can grow as long as 40 feet. This feature makes it well suited for hanging baskets and biowall or vertical garden systems. The plant climbs over a support with the help of aerial roots which adhere to rough surface. The flowers are produced in spathe up to 25 cm long. Pothos prefers bright, indirect light but is even able to survive for the longer periods in low light. The growth rate of plant is vigorous during warm and humid period but it slows down during dry and cool period of the year. The plant prefers slightly acidic medium for better growth but foliar loss is common when irrigation water contains higher level of sodium and fluoride salts. Growing media, whether organic or inorganic, plays a crucial role in providing support and nourishment to plants. Selection of plant specific growing medium is an important aspect of biowall or vertical garden system. Different regions around the world employ a diverse range of soilless media as viable replacements for traditional soil, offering suitable alternatives for plant growth (De-Rijck and Schrevens, 1998) [1] . Different types of growing media such as cocopeat, vermiculite, perlite and peat moss are widely utilized by nurserymen and gardeners. Cocopeat is prepared from the waste of coconut husk and it has good porosity, improved drainage and aeration. Vermiculite is chemically hydrated magnesium-aluminum-iron silicate, having good moisture holding property and obtained after processing of mica at 1090 °C. Perlite is grey-white material originated to salicaceous mineral and holds three to four times more waters to its weight. Peat Moss is least decomposed and derived from sphagnum or other mosses having high water holding capacity and acidic in pH (3.2 to 4.5). Vermicompost is decomposed and rotten material of farm waste prepared by using earthworms and it contains 0.51-1.61% nitrogen, 0.19-1.02% phosphorous and 0.15-0.73% potassium (Nagavallemma et al., 2004) [9] .

Materials and Methods

The experiment was conducted during October, 2023 to April, 2024 at the Department of Floriculture and Landscape Architecture, ASPEE College of Horticulture, Navsari Agricultural University, Navsari. The uniform and healthy cuttings of Scindapsus aureus with 8 to 10 cm length along with three nodes were planted under the polytunnel for rooting. The experiment was carried out under modular biowall system. Modular plastic container having top width 11.00 cm, bottom width 8.00 cm and length 11.00 cm were filled as per the treatments with different growing media combinations mixed on the volume basis. The experiment was conducted by using eight treatments of media combination with four repetitions viz., M1-garden soil: perlite: vermicompost (2:1:1 v/v); M2-garden soil: vermiculite: vermicompost (2:1:1 v/v); M3-cocopeat: perlite: vermicompost (2:1:1 v/v); M4-cocopeat: vermiculite: vermicompost (2:1:1 v/v); M5-peatmoss: perlite: vermicompost (2:1:1 v/v); M6-peatmoss: vermiculite: vermicompost 2:1:1 v/v); M7-peatmoss: cocopeat: vermiculite: vermicompost (1:1:1:1 v/v) and M8-peatmoss: cocopeat: perlite: vermicompost (1:1:1:1 v/v). The well rooted uniform cuttings were transplanted in modular pots filled with media combinations as per the treatment and subjected to acclimatize under tree shade for the one month. Therefore, modular pots with acclimatized plants were installed in the bracates of modular biowall system. Drip irrigation system with emitters of 8 liters/hour (LPH) was installed for irrigation purpose. Plants were irrigated at 7 days interval during December to February and at 3 days interval during March to April. The run period of drip was 3 minutes. The water-soluble fertilizer NPK 19: 19: 19 @ 0.2% (2 g/lit) was applied through foliar application with the help of Knapsack sprayer at 15 days interval to all the treatments. Similarly for micronutrient application, chelated micronutrients grade IV (Zn: 6%, Fe: 4%, Cu: 0.5%, Mn: 1% and B: 0.5%) @ 0.2% (2 g/lit) was also applied through foliar application at two months intervals to all the treatments. For the different growth and quality parameters, five plants were randomly tagged and all the observations taken from three plants and average was calculated.

Results and Discussion

Growth parameters

The data presented in the table 01 indicated that the growth parameters viz., vine length, number of leaves/plant, leaf area, leaf length, leaf width, number of roots, fresh weight of roots, fresh weight of shoots, dry weight of roots, dry weight of shoots and root: shoot ratio were significantly influenced by different growing media combinations. Among different media combinations, growing media M4cocopeat: vermiculite: vermicompost @ 2:1:1 v/v promoted maximum vine length (22.70 cm), number of leaves/plant (8.34), leaf area (27.64 cm 2 ), leaf length (8.90 cm), leaf width (5.71 cm), number of roots (12.00), fresh and dry weight of roots (6.60 g and 0.47 g, respectively), fresh and dry weight of shoots (13.74 g and 1.14 g, respectively) as well as root: shoot ratio (0.42). Whereas, growing media M1-garden soil: perlite: vermicompost @ 2:1:1 v/v recorded minimum values of vine length (15.04 cm), number of leaves/plant (5.13), leaf area (21.31 cm 2 ), leaf length (7.44 cm), leaf width (5.20 cm), number of roots (7.25), fresh and dry weight of roots (2.17 g and 0.17 g, respectively), fresh and dry weight of shoots (7.90 g and 0.70 g, respectively) and root: shoot ratio (0.24). Furthermore, among these parameters, vine length, number of leaves/plant, leaf area, leaf length and leaf width showed increasing trend over the period. The reason might be due to cocopeat serves as reservoir for optimum moisture and aeration which facilitated gaseous exchange between the roots and atmosphere outside the growing substrate, vermiculite increased the nutrient availability allowing for a high nutrient uptake efficiency (Pisa et al. 2020) [11] and the rich source of nutrients are present in vermicompost. But, the impact of growing media on number of shoots/plant was non-significant. Across all the treatments of growing media, the number of shoots per plant remained constant, with each plant produced an average of only one shoot. Similar findings were reported by Mousa et al. (2004) [8] in pothos (Scindapsus aureus L.); Ikram et al. (2012) [2] in tuberose (Polianthes tuberosa L.); Mehmood et al. (2013) [6] in floral shower (Antirrhinum majus L); Swetha et al. (2014) [13] in Aglaonema cv. Ernesto's Favourite; Younis et al. (2015) [15] in miniature rose cv. Baby Boomer; Kavipriya et al. (2019) [4] in Dracena reflexa variegeta; Lakshanthi and Seran (2019) [5] in orchid (Dendrobium spp.) and Monika and Chandla (2021) [7] in Chrysanthemum cv. Haldighati.

Quality parameters

The data from table 02 revealed that growing media significantly influenced the quality parameters viz., visual quality and total chlorophyll content. Visual quality also showed an increase trend over the period. The maximum visual quality grade (7.87) was reported by the plants grown with media M4-cocopeat: vermiculite: vermicompost @ 2:1:1 v/v. Whereas, minimum visual quality (5.18) was recorded in plants grown with media combination of garden soil: perlite: vermicompost @ 2: 1: 1 v/v (M1). The increased visual quality grade might be attributed to the cocopeat-amended medium facilitated higher production and accumulation of protein and amino acids compared to the plants grown in peat-amended medium (Scagel, 2003) [12] and improved nutrition from vermicompost enhanced the biochemical properties of plants, such as chlorophyll, enzyme activity and protein synthesis (Tomati et al., 1995) [14] . Present findings are in line with reports of Zawadzinska and Janicka (2007) [16] in garden pansy (Viola × wittrockiana Gams.); Swetha et al. (2014) [13] in aglaonema cv. Ernesto's Favourite and Kavana et al. (2019) [3] in sword fern (Nephrolepsis undulata J. Sm.). Among the different growing media combinations, the highest value of total chlorophyll (0.466 mg/g) was recorded in the plants grown with media M4-cocopeat: vermiculite: vermicompost @ 2:1:1 v/v. But combination of garden soil: perlite: vermicompost @ 2:1:1 v/v (M1) reported the lowest value of total chlorophyll content (0.301 mg/g). It might be attributed to the superiority of vermicompost, which have the ability to supply nutrients such as N, P, K, Ca, and Mg in readily available forms. As essential constituents of chlorophyll, N and Mg are crucial for its synthesis. The present result is in agreement with the finding of Kavana et al. (2019) [3] in sword fern (Nephrolepsis undulata J. Sm.) and Pawar et al. (2022) [10] in anthurium cv. Tropical Red.

Media Analysis

The media analysis was carried out before and after the end of the experiment revealed that the pH, EC, water holding capacity and bulk density of growing media showed significant differences among the different growing media combinations. The media analysis data presented in the Table 03 indicated that the pH and EC of the media showed slightly increasing trend. It might be attributed to accumulation of salts of irrigation water over the days.

Whereas, water holding capacity and bulk density showed non-significant differences before as well as after the experiment due to destructive method is used. Furthermore, peatmoss: vermiculite: vermicompost @ 2:1:1 v/v recorded minimum pH (6.19 and 6.34, respectively) and EC value (0.32 dS/m and 0.44 dS/m, respectively) before and after the end of the experiment. The maximum pH (7.11 and 7.19, respectively) and EC (1.30 dS/m and 1.39 dS/m, respectively) were reported by the media garden soil: perlite: vermicompost @ 2:1:1 v/v before as well as after the end of the experiment. The media combination of cocopeat: vermiculite: vermicompost @ 2:1:1 v/v recorded the highest water holding capacity before as well as after the end of the experiment (68.75% and 68.54%, respectively). Whereas, the lowest water holding capacity (43.72% and 42.26%, respectively) was recorded by media garden soil: perlite: vermicompost @ 2:1:1 v/v. The media analysis with respect to bulk density indicated that the minimum bulk density (0.58 g/cm 3 and 0.59 g/cm 3 ) was found in media peatmoss: vermiculite: vermicompost @ 2:1:1 v/v) before as well as after the end of the experiment. While, the maximum bulk density (0.89 g/cm 3 and 0.89 g/cm 3 , respectively) was found in media garden soil: vermiculite: vermicompost @ 2:1:1 v/v at before and after the end of the experiment. The reason might be due to bulk density and water holding capacity measured by emptying the modular pots after the end of the experiment. This caused media to being loose.

Conclusion

Based on the result obtained from the present investigation, it can be concluded that the soilless based media combination was found better than the soil-based media combination for pothos under modular biowall system. The growing media combination of cocopeat: vermiculite: vermicompost @ 2:1:1 v/v was found the best for pothos (Scindapsus aureus) which influenced the maximum growth and quality under the modular biowall system.

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