Effect of different growing media on germination and seedling growth of acid lime (Citrus aurantifolia Swingle) cv. Phule Sharbati

Introduction

Citrus fruits are classify under succulent (fleshy) fruits, having a leathery and glandular pericarp, the locules of these fruits contain juicy sacs developed from the placental hair of the endocarp and this type of fruits is known as Hesperidium (Singh, 2002) [1] . Citrus belongs to Rutaceae family which consists of over 160 genera and more than 2,000 species, are majorly found in tropical and subtropical areas and a few citrus species are adapted to temperate regions (Kubitzki et al., 2011) [2] . Citrus is divided into four groups: lime and lemons belong to the acid group, the orange group consists of sweet oranges and the 3 rd group of mandarins and the last group is of pummelo and grapefruit (Bose et al., 2021) [3] . Northeastern India is a home of acid lime (Citrus aurantifolia Swingle) having a chromosome number of 2n = 18. Acid lime are the natural cross of Papeda × Citrus medica (Chadha, 2019) [4] . The seed of acid lime is polyembryonic in nature which means ovules consist of more than one embryo germination percentage varies between 58 and 70% and it takes 3 weeks to germinate. The polyembryonic seeds are true to type of their parents, due to which it is best method of propagation of acid lime. In this study cv. Phule Sharbati was sown in different growing media for determining the best media for germination, growth as well as survival of acid lime seedlings. Growing media are as soil, vermicompost, cocopeat, neem cake, mustard cake, farmyard manure and rice husk. Vermicompost in combination with soil and cocopeat increase soil texture and porosity, improve water-holding capacity and also enhance the microbial activity in the rhizosphere (Prajapati et al., 2017) [5] . Mustard cake, along with cocopeat is excellent for seed germination, seedling growth and survivability of seedlings because it is rich in organic matter and NPK (4:1:1). The rice husks possess favorable physicochemical properties for the germination, growth and development of the roots to grow fruit plants but take time to decompose due to high C:N ratio (85:1), silica and lignin content. (Caso et al., 2009; Ghasal et al., 2025) [6] . Neem cake is a great organic additive to growing medium for seedlings because it offers natural pest and disease control (particularly neem's fungicidal properties) and improves soil structure and aeration, but due to the presence of azadirachtin, it acts as a natural nitrification inhibitor, which holds ammonium in the soil (Abeka et al., 2022) [7] . Farm yard manure has a good amount of nutrients that is partially decomposed, and it makes nutrients available gradually. Nainar et al. (2021) [8] show better germination, stronger root development, more chlorophyll, and generally healthier, more robust seedlings in media soil, FYM, vermicompost, and cocopeat in equal proportions produced higher results.

Materials and Methods

Location

The experiment was conducted under a shade net house of Pt.

Layout of experiment

The experiment was laid out in a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) comprising 11 treatments, each replicated 3 times. The arrangement of treatments was done in accordance with the principles of CRD to ensure uniformity and to minimize experimental error. Acid lime seeds were sown in polythene bags of 6×12 inch size filled with different growing media and its combinations. Per polythene bag, single seed was sown at 1.2 cm depth. Each treatment per replication carries 20 polybags labelled with appropriate tags, totally 220 polythene bags in a single replication and in an experiment total 660 polybags were sown. The bags were arranged according to the experimental layout, and treatments were allocated to replications using the principles of randomization.

Treatment details

The experimentation comprising of 11 treatment combinations viz., T 0 -Control (Soil), T 1 -Soil + Neem Cake (2:1), T 2 -Soil + Cocopeat + Neem Cake (1:1:1), T 3 -Soil + FYM (2:1), T 4 -Soil + Cocopeat + FYM (1:1:1), T 5 -Soil + Vermicompost (2:1), T 6 -Soil + Cocopeat + Vermicompost (1:1:1), T 7 -Soil + Rice husk (2:1), T 8 -Soil + Cocopeat + Rice husk (1:1:1), T 9 -Soil + Mustard Cake (2:1), T 10 -Soil + Cocopeat + Mustard Cake (1:1:1). In this experiment various combination of organic growing media is used in a definite proportion. Vermicompost is enrich in nutrients and humus, also known as worm castings, worm humus or worm manure (Lavanya et al., 2022) [9] their compost is an odourless, clean, organic material containing adequate quantities of (N:P:K = 1.5:0.8:1.5) and several micronutrients essential for plant growth (Gohil et al., 2022) [10] . Rice husks have favorable physicochemical properties for the germination, growth and development of the roots, to grow fruit plants (Caso et al., 2009). It is low-cost and renewable bio-based water adsorbent which helps in seed germination. Mustard cake, along with cocopeat is an excellent component of growing media for seed germination, seedling growth and survival. Because it is rich in organic matter and NPK (4:1:1) (Ghasal et al., 2025) [6] . It is used to fertilize various crops and increases the humus content of the soil. The composition of neem cake is 5.2% N, 1.0% P and 1.4% K. Farm Yard Manure is basically prepared from cow manure, cow urine, waste straw and other dairy waste. FYM is a rich source of nutrients (N:P:K = 0.55:0.28:0.52) and helps in improve and maintain soil fertility (Patil et al., 2015).

Observations recorded

The observations were recorded at 30, 60, 90 and 120 days after sowing viz., germinations parameters are days taken to 1 st seed germination, days taken to 50 percent germination and germination percentage. Seedling growth parameters are height of seedlings and number of leaves per plant are observed at 30, 60, 90 and 120 days after sowing, rest of parameters like diameter of stem and root, fresh and dry weight of root and shoot, length of root is observed only at 120 days. Root: shoot ratio is calculated through formula:

Root: Shoot ratio = Dry weight of roots (g) Dry weight of shoots (g)

Result and discussions

The data were observed, explored and recorded during the investigation were analyzed statistically to understand the differences among the effect of different growing media combinations. The average value of plant response of all treatments was calculated and compared to identify significant results. The findings of present experiment are presented under the following headings:

Days taken to 1st seed germination

The data collected during the experiment were analysed and has been shown in table 1 and figure 1. Among all the treatments, T 6 -Soil + Cocopeat + Vermicompost (1:1:1) took significantly minimum number of days (16.3 days) to germinate, which was significantly superior over all other treatments and was followed by T 10 -Soil + Cocopeat + Mustard Cake (1:1:1) (17.5 days), T 9 -Soil + Mustard Cake (2:1) (19.6 days), T 4 -Soil + Cocopeat + FYM (1:1:1) (20.8 days) and T 5 -Soil + Vermicompost (2:1) (21.3 days), whereas T 4 and T 5 were statistically at par with each other at the 5% level of significance. In T 0 -Control (Soil), marks the maximum number (26.1 days) taken to 1 st seed germination. Cocopeat, soil and vermicompost have been shown to promote germination and early growth by improving the physical, chemical and biological characteristics of the growing media. This media supply sufficient moisture as well as superior porosity which permits adequate moisture and gaseous exchange (aeration) between the media and seed embryo, which is essential for rapid and uniform germination of seeds. This conclusion is similar to those of Narayan et al. (2008) [11] and Bihari et al. (2009) [12] in Aonla, Prajapati et al. (2017) [5] , Nainar et al. (2021) [8] in acid lime.

Days taken to 50 percent germination

The data noted during the experiment were analysed and has been presented in table 1 andfigure 2. The minimum number of days taken to 50 per cent germination (20.50 days) was recorded in treatment T 6 -Soil + Cocopeat + Vermicompost (1:1:1), which was significantly at par with T 10 -Soil + Cocopeat + Mustard Cake (1:1:1) -(21.50 days).

In contrast maximum days (31.74 days) taken to 50 percent germination has been shown in T 0 -Control (Soil). Vermicompost, soil and cocopeat combinations, might enhance the retention of more water and air which helped in quick and early enzymatic action for synthesis of metabolites for cell multiplication and increase the breakdown of the seed coat resulting in the transformation of embryo into a seedling early enough. This finding were confirmed by Haribhau et al. (2022) [13] and Prajapati et al. (2017) [5] in acid lime.

Germination percentage

The germination percentage of acid lime under different growing media has been shown in [14] . Mustard cake serves as an organic nutrient source high in N, P and S, which promotes early seed germination and seedling growth of acid lime. As a result, germination is generally high and statistically comparable to T 6 , but significantly lower due to presence of glucosinolates which may cause temporary phytotoxicity during decomposition, but after decomposition it helps in seedling growth and survival.

Seedling growth parameters

Height of seedlings

The height of seedlings (cm) of acid lime at 30, 60, 90 and 120 DAS were noted in table 2 and illustrate in figure 4. The maximum height of seedlings was observed under the treatment T 6 -Soil + Cocopeat + Vermicompost (1:1:1) of (5.23 cm, 11.50 cm, 17.60 cm and 24.53 cm) at 30, 60, 90 and 120 DAS respectively, which was found to be significantly better over all other treatments. In contrast with T 0 -Control (Soil) recorded minimum height of seedlings of (1.80 cm, 4.80 cm, 8.90 cm and 15.20 cm) at 30, 60, 90 and 120 DAS. The combination of cocopeat and vermicompost is highly influence the height of seedling, because it combines ideal physical structure with high nutrient availability, promoting rapid cell division and expansion (Haribhau et al., 2022) [13] . Mustard Cake contains higher nitrogen than vermicompost but then also vermicompost perform better than mustard cake initially due to presence of glucosinolates in mustard cake take time to decompose, while vermicompost is already dead and decomposed one, its nutrients easily available to plants, but later stage (after 120 days) it increases in the height as well as number of leaves of seedlings.

Number of leaves per plant

The number of leaves per plant is counted and noted in a table 3 and sketched in figure 5 at 30, 60, 90 and 120 DAS. The highest number of leaves was observed in T 10 -Soil + Cocopeat + Mustard Cake (1:1:1) at 30, 60, 90 and 120 DAS having respective number of leaves (8.2, 13.4, 18.7, 24.7). The Mustard cake, along with cocopeat is excellent for seedling growth and survivability of seedlings because it is rich in organic matter and NPK (4:1:1). The highest nitrogen present in the mustard cake leads to formation of more number of leaves due to chlorophyll synthesis, photosynthesis, and leaf development. The combine effect of this treatments, resulting in vigorous vegetative growth and enhanced leaf production. Mustard cake enhance vegetative growth, number of leaves per plant, fruit yield and quality in Aonla. This finding was supported by Yadav et al. (2024) [15] in Nagpur Mandarin. While lowest number of leaves (4.7, 7.3, 10.7 and 15.2) was found in T 0 -Control (Soil) at 30, 60, 90 and 120 DAS respectively.

Diameter of stem

The diameter of stem of acid lime seedlings are measured using digital vernier caliper and the data is presented in the table 4 and figure 6. At 120 DAS highest diameter is recorded in T 6 -Soil + Cocopeat + Vermicompost (1:1:1) is (3.83 mm) and was recorded minimum in T 0 -Control (Soil) is (2.17 mm). Vermicompost, cocopeat and soil amalgamation influence the nutrient uptake and provides growth promoting substances that not only helps in vegetative growth of seedlings but also boost the shoot thickness. This finding was confirmed by Sajana et al. (2018) [9] in marking nut and Choudhary et al. (2022) [16] in Mandarin.

Length of root

At 120 DAS, the seedlings of acid lime cv. Phule Sharbati is uprooted for determining the length of root, the taproot is measured and shown in the table 4 and figure 7. The highest length of root (19.54 cm) was determined under the T 6 -Soil + Cocopeat + Vermicompost (1:1:1), which was at par with treatment T 10 -Soil + Cocopeat + Mustard Cake (1:1:1) observing an average length of root (18.48 cm). Both these treatments were statistically at par with T 9 -Soil + Mustard Cake (2:1)) having (18.33 cm) root length at the 5% level of significance. The lowest length of root (12.87 cm) was marked under the control. Vermicompost represents a hormone like activity and increased the number of roots, which results improving nutrient absorption in addition to better growth and development of plants. All this growth length of root is due to good rhizosphere, promotes root development. The results are in consonance with the earlier report by Dhruw et al. (2025) [17] in papaya.

Diameter of root

The diameter of root is presented on table 4 and figure 8 at 120 DAS, among the different growing media combinations studied in the present experiment, the maximum root diameter (3.13 mm) was found under the treatment T 10 -Soil + Cocopeat + Mustard Cake (1:1:1), while the minimum root diameter (1.30 mm) was observed in T 0 -Control (Soil). The increased root diameter under T 10 may be associated with improved nutrient availability and better soil physical conditions provided by cocopeat and mustard cake, especially mustard cake influences in increases root diameter and overall root health by supplying high concentrations of nitrogen and other essential nutrients, encouraging robust structural growth. Yadav et al. (2024) [15] observed that increase in number of fruits per plant, fruit yield per plant and per hectare in mustard cake because due to high nitrogen which enhance the vegetative growth, due to which more number of leaves form more photosynthetic activity increase in dry matter production and more will be the diameter of root leads to increase in C:N ratio which enhance flowering and fruiting.

Fresh weight of shoot

The data shown at table 4 and figure 9, the fresh weight of shoot at 120 DAS. In comparison with the different growing media treatments, the maximum fresh weight of shoot was shown in T 6 -Soil + Cocopeat + Vermicompost (1:1:1) at (8.33 g), which was significantly best over all other treatments. While the minimum fresh weight (4.33 g) of shoot was marked under the control. The improved growth of these treatments may be attributed to better nutrient availability, improved aeration, and enhanced moisture retention capacity. Conversely, the control treatment noted the lowest shoot biomass. The impact on growth and development of plant was nutritionally, as well as biochemical and hormonal effect. Some researchers have reported that vermicompost increases biomass in various plants. This study is confirmed by Nainar et al. (2021) [8] and Lungariya et al. (2022) [18] in acid lime.

Dry weight of shoot

The maximum dry weight of shoot (4.47 g) was noted and mention in the table 4 and represented in figure 10 under the treatment T 6 -Soil + Cocopeat + Vermicompost (1:1:1) which was found best overall the treatments followed by T 10 -Soil + Cocopeat + Mustard Cake (1:1:1) with dry weight of (4.17 g). Moreover, the minimum dry weight of shoot (2.27 g) was observed in T 0 -Control (Soil). The present study agreement with Ramteke et al. (2015) [14] that vermicompost and cocopeat treated growing media also reported higher leaf chlorophyll content which might certainly improve the photosynthetic rate, dry matter production and their by more fresh and dry weight of shoot. 11 presents data on the fresh weight of roots in acid lime seedlings at 120 DAS, as influenced by different growing media treatments. The maximum fresh weight of root (2.47 g) was founded under the treatment T 6 -Soil + Cocopeat + Vermicompost (1:1:1) followed by T 10 -Soil + Cocopeat + Mustard Cake (1:1:1) which was found to be significantly better over all other treatments. Whereas, the minimum fresh weight of root (0.45 g) was noted in T 0 -Control (Soil). The enhanced fresh weight of root under T₆ may be attributed to improved physical properties of the growing media such as better aeration, higher moisture retention, and increased nutrient availability. Also vermicompost and cocopeat retain high moisture which tends to maintain sufficient moisture in a plant cells. The present result is in conformity with the earlier report of Prajapati et al. (2017) [5] and Jangde et al. (2020) in acid lime.

Fresh weight of root

Dry weight of root

The data of dry weight of root at 120 DAS, are collected in the Table 4 and sketch on figure 12. The maximum dry weight of root (1.51 g) was recorded under the treatment T 6 -Soil + Cocopeat + Vermicompost (1:1:1) which was found to be significantly superior over all other treatments, followed by T 10 -Soil + Cocopeat + Mustard Cake (1:1:1) of (1.40 g) and T 9 of (1.22 g) of dry weight of root. The increased dry matter accumulation in roots under T₆ may be attributed to improved nutrient availability, enhanced microbial activity, and better physical properties of the growing media such as aeration and moisture retention, which promote root growth and efficient assimilation of nutrients, ultimately leading to higher root biomass (Ramteke et al., (2015) [14] in papaya, Jangde et al., (2020) and Nainar et al. (2021) [8] in acid lime.

Root: shoot ratio

The data presented in the table 4 and illustrate in figure 13, recorded the root shoot ratio of acid lime seedlings at 120 DAS. The maximum root: shoot ratio (0.381) was recorded under the treatment T₃ -Soil + FYM (2:1), which was followed by T 6 (0.338) which was statically at par with T 10 (0.336), T 8 (0.336), T 9 (0.331), T 5 (0.327) and T 2 (0.323) showed non-significant differences with each other at the 5% level of significance. Whereas, the minimum root: shoot ratio (0.158) was shown in T 0 -Control (Soil), which was significantly poorer to all other treatments. In T 3 -Soil + FYM (2:1) stimulates higher dry matter production due to high carbohydrate, cellulose and lignin content in farm yard manure and low fresh weight as compare to T 6 -Soil + Vermicompost + Cocopeat (1:1:1) having high fresh weight due to high water holding capacity and high moisture retention in his treatment leads to higher fresh weight and low root shoot ratio than farm yard manure and soil media. Similar results were obtained by Prajapati et al. (2017) [5] in acid lime.

Conclusions

According to the present research findings, germination parameters viz minimum days taken to 1 st seed germination, minimum days taken to 50 percent seed germination and maximum germination percentage, seedling growth parameters like height of seedlings and number of leaves at 30, 60, 90 and 120 DAS diameter of stem, fresh and dry weight of root and shoot were confirmed maximum in T 6 -Soil + Vermicompost + Cocopeat (1:1:1). Both germination and seedling growth parameter T 6 -Soil + Vermicompost + Cocopeat (1:1:1) noted as best media it is due to good water holding capacity, high humus content and easily available nutrient present in this media.

Acknowledgement

AcknowledgementWe thank the college Pandit Kishori Lal Shukla College of Horticulture and Research Station, Rajnandgaon for rendering all necessary facilities required for fulfillment of this research work. germination percent of acid lime cv. Phule Sharbati.

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21. How to cite this article: Sonboir UK, Deshmukh U, Sangeeta, Saha M, Singh N, Yamini, et al. Effect of different growing media on germination and seedling growth of acid lime (Citrus aurantifolia Swingle) cv. Phule Sharbati. International Journal of Advanced Biochemistry Research. 2026;SP-10(9):1843-1851. doi: https://www.doi.org/10.33545/26174693.2026.v10.i9S.1008