Influence of various growing media on sprouting, growth and survivability of Betelvine (Piper betle L.) cuttings

Introduction

Betelvine (Piper betle L.) is an important perennial, evergreen, dioecious climbing plant belonging to the Piperaceae family. Its leaves, known as "paan," are widely cultivated in India. In all the chewing purpose crops in this is one of the most important used, it is widely used worldwide. According to de Candolle, the crop originated in Southeast Asia, particularly Malaysia and then spread to surrounding tropical regions such as India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Indonesia. Betelvine is believed to have originated in Southeast Asia, particularly Malaysia and subsequently spread to various tropical countries, including India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Indonesia (Bajpai et al. 2010 and Sudjaroen, 2012) [4,22] . In India, betelvine is widely cultivated in states such as West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu under humid and partially shaded conditions. India is one of the largest producers of betel leaves in the world, with a total cultivated area of approximately 31.10 thousand hectares and a production of 684.22 thousand tons. Among the states, West Bengal leads with the largest area under betelvine cultivation (18.99 thousand hectares) and production (515.04 thousand tonnes), contributing a major share to the national production. Betelvine is mainly cultivated in Rajnandgaon, Khairagarh-Chhuikhadan-Gandai, Gariaband and Raigarh districts of Chhattisgarh, where Meetha Paan and Kalkatiya Paan are popular, predominantly grown by small and marginal farmers (Akshay et al. 2018) [2] .

Materials and Methods

The present experiment entitled "Influence of various growing media on sprouting, growth and survivability of Betelvine (Piper betle L.

The minimum days for sprouting (18.44 days) was recorded in T 4 (sand:soil:vermicompost 1:1:2), followed by T 5 (18.94 days) The maximum days (28.70 days) was observed in T o (Sand:Soil Control). This faster germination time may be due to better aeration, higher nutrient levels and the presence of growthpromoting substances in vermicompost, which accelerate root growth. Research by Sahu et al. (2026), [18] and Kumar et al.

(2023) [11] reported similar results, which are consistent with our findings.

Number of sprouts

At 30, 60 and 90 DAP, T 4 [Sand: Soil: Vermicompost (1:1:2)] recorded the highest number of sprouts (2.49, 3.68 and 4.49, respectively), followed by T 6 (2.29) at 30 DAP, T 3 (3.18), at 60 DAP, and T 5 (4.08) at 90 DAP. The lowest sprouting was observed in T 0 (0.90, 1.56 and 2.00, respectively). Higher sprouting in vermicompost-based media may be attributed to better nutrient availability, microbial activity and aeration. Similar findings were reported by Sharma et al. (2023) [20] , Reddy et al. (2024) [17] and Naik et al. (2025) [15] .

The highest sprouting percentage (89.70%) was recorded in T 4 [Sand: Soil: Vermicompost (1:1:2)], followed by T 6 (84.72%). The lowest sprouting (54.82%) was observed in T 0 (Control). Better sprouting in vermicompost-based media may be attributed to improved aeration, nutrient availability and microbial activity. Similar findings were reported by Ekka et al. (2023) [8] , Mishra et al. (2024) [13] .

Growth Parameters Number of leaves cutting-1

The maximum number of leaves (13.95) was recorded in T 4 [Sand: Soil: Vermicompost (1:1:2)], followed by T 6 (11.99) and T 5 (11.96), while the minimum (6.88) was observed in T 0 (Control). The higher leaf production under vermicompost-based media may be attributed to improved nutrient availability, microbial activity and aeration. Similar enhancement in leaf production due to improved growing media was reported by Rajput et al. (2024) [16] and Atiyeh et al. (2000) [3]

Number of shoots cutting-1

The maximum number of shoots (4.55) was recorded in T 4 [Sand: Soil: Vermicompost (1:1:2)], which was significantly superior to all other treatments, while the minimum (2.09) was observed in T 0 (Control). The higher shoot production in T 4 may be due to better nutrient availability and aeration provided by vermicompost. Similar results were reported by Usendi et al.

(2022) [23] , Salehi (2014) [28] and Muktar et al. (2023) [14] .

The maximum shoot length (35.35 cm) was recorded in T 4 [Sand:

Soil: Vermicompost (1:1:2)], followed by T 5 (30.30 cm) while the minimum (10.10 cm) was observed in T 0 (Control). The better shoot growth in vermicompost-based media may be attributed to improved nutrient availability, microbial activity and aeration. Similar findings were reported by Sahu et al. (2026) [18] , Eide et al. (2015) [7] , Kakade et al. (2019) [10] and Dawar et al. (2020) [6] .

Diameter of shoot cutting-1

The maximum shoot diameter (4.46 mm) was recorded in T 4 [Sand: Soil: Vermicompost (1:1:2)], while the minimum (1.41 mm) was observed in T 0 (Control). The higher shoot diameter in T 4 may be due to better nutrient availability and enhanced cambial activity. Rajput et al. (2024) [16] also reported higher shoot diameter of 6.21, 6.14 and 6.17 mm in M3F3, compared with 5.31, 5.26 and 5.28 mm in M1F1 across the years.

T 4 (sand:soil:vermicompost 1:1:2) (12.03 cm) showed the influence of growing media on maximum leaf length, followed by T 5 (11. [12] and Akshay et al. (2018) [2] , indicating better leaf growth with vermicompost-based media.

At 90 DAP, the maximum leaf breadth (5.28 cm) was recorded in T 4 [Sand: Soil: Vermicompost (1:1:2)], followed by T 5 (5.18 cm) and T 6 (5.00 cm), while the minimum (2.89 cm) was observed in T 0 (Control). The higher leaf breadth under vermicompost-based media may be attributed to improved nutrient availability, soil structure and microbial activity, promoting leaf development.

Similar findings were reported by Sodi et al. (2024) [21] and Chattopadhyay et al. (2017) [5] .

The highest survival (71.76%) was recorded in T 4 [Sand: Soil: Vermicompost (1:1:2)], followed by T 6 (67.77%) while the lowest (43.85%) was observed in T 0 (Control). The better survival in vermicompost-based media may be attributed to improved nutrient availability, microbial activity and moisture retention, creating favourable conditions for rooting. Similar findings were reported by Aghdaei et al. (2019) [1] .

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