Vegetos
(An International Journal of Plant Research & Biotechnology)
Effect of different charcoal incorporated growing media on the growth and yield performance of Brassica oleracea var. botrytis L
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Research Articles | Published: 07 December, 2025
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Keywords: Charcoal, Cauliflower, Growing media, Curd diameter, Nutrition
Abstract
The effect of different charcoal-incorporated growing media on the growth and yield performance of cauliflower was tested by an experiment conducted at the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Jaffna, Kilinochchi during the period from March to June. A two-factor factorial pot experiment was carried out in Complete Randomized Design (CRD) with five replicates. The first factor was different charcoal media (M1-coconut shell, M2-paddy husk, M3-palmyrah kernel, M4-coconut husk, M5-control), and the second factor included different ratios of growing media (T1—topsoil: compost: charcoal 1:0.5:0.5, T2—topsoil: compost: charcoal 1:1:1). Treatment combinations were T1M1, T1M2, T1M3, T1M4, T1M5, T2M1, T2M2, T2M3, T2M4 and T2M5. Climatic, vegetative, yield parameters and nutritional analysis data were analysed in an ANOVA with SAS. Mean values were compared using Duncan’s multiplication range test. All management practices were performed following the recommendation of the Department of Agriculture, Sri Lanka. The results revealed that growing of cauliflower in different media with varying ratios had a significant influence on plant growth, yield, and nutrient attributes. There was a significant variation in growth, yield parameters of cauliflower and nutrient attributes. There was a notable variation in the growth and yield parameters of cauliflower and nutrient composition of growing media, such as plant height, number of leaves, root length, root weight, curd weight, curd circumference, curd diameter, available nitrogen, available potassium, available phosphorus, organic matter and organic carbon among different growing media. The highest plant height, number of cumulative leaves, curd weight, root length, root weight, curd diameter, curd circumference, available nitrogen and available phosphorus were found in M2 (paddy husk) growing media. However, there was no significant variation in all growth and yield parameters of cauliflower and nutritional composition among different ratios of growing media, except curd weight, available potassium, and available phosphorus. The highest curd weight was recorded in the T1 growing media ratio. In conclusion, this study suggests that different growing media have a significant influence on the growth and yield of cauliflower. Among the growing media, paddy husk (M2) can be recommended as the best charcoal media at the ratio of topsoil: compost: charcoal 1:0.5:0.5 (T1) due to good growth and yield performance of cauliflower.
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Author Information
Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Jaffna, Jaffna, Sri Lanka