Comparative effect of different potting substrates on vegetative and floral attributes of marigold under mid hills conditions of Himachal Pradesh, India

Abstract: The influence of various potting substrates on the vegetative and floral attributes of three marigold cultivars (‘Pusa Bahar’, ‘Pusa Deep’, and ‘Seracole’) was investigated in the mid-hills of Himachal Pradesh. Eight different substrates were utilized, including soil+FYM (1:1, v/v), soil+FYM (2:1, v/v), soil+sand+FYM (1:1:1, v/v), sand+soil+FYM (2:1:1, v/v), spent mushroom compost (SMC), smc+soil+sand+FYM (1:1:1:1, v/v), leaf mould and leaf mould+soil+FYM (1:1:1, v/v). Among the different potting substrates, the substrate composed of leaf mould+soil+FYM (1:1:1, v/v) exhibited superior performance, resulting in maximum plant height (50.52 cm), plant spread (34.70 cm), number of shoots (11.74), number of flower heads open at a time (12.49), largest flower head diameter (5.60 cm), total number of flowers per plant (18.37), pot presentability score (80.60), available NPK (659.16 kg ha^-1, 23.87 kg ha^-1 and 335.61 kg ha^-1, respectively) and OC (44.61 g kg^-1). Regarding cultivar variation, ‘Pusa Deep’ demonstrated significant attributes with the maximum plant spread (36.24 cm), number of flower heads open at a time (15.75), total number of flowers per plant (24.57) and pot presentability score (79.40). However, ‘Seracole’ exhibited the highest number of shoots (12.02), largest flower head size (5.81 cm), maximum available NPK (505.26 kg ha^-1, 18.15 kg ha^-1 and 43.25 kg ha^-1, respectively) and OC (43.25 g kg^-1). This study suggests that a potting medium containing Leaf Mould+Soil+FYM (1:1:1, v/v) coupled with the ‘Pusa Deep’ cultivar is optimal for producing high-quality potted marigold plants. These findings offer practical insights for improving marigold cultivation practices by selecting optimal potting substrates along with the cultivar in similar agro-climatic regions, potentially enhancing flowering, marketability and economic returns for farmers.