Growth and development of seedlings in relation to container size and potting media under nursery conditions in oroxylum indicum- A multipurpose medicinal plant

The current study investigated the effect of container size and potting media on growth and development of Oroxylum indicum. The treatments consisted of four container sizes: root trainer 250 cc, root trainer 300 cc, polybag 16 cm x 24 cm (1500 cc) and polybag 23 cm x 28 cm (4200 cc) and three potting media: soil only, soil: sand: farmyard manure, 1:1:1 and soil: sand: vermicompost, 1:1:1. The container size, potting media and the interaction of container size x potting media exhibited significant effect on the growth and development of all the studied parameters- seedling height, collar diameter, number of leaves, shoot weight, length of primary root, number of secondary roots, root weight, total fresh weight of seedling, total dry weight of seedling, root: shoot ratio, sturdiness quotient and seedling quality index. The effect of potting media on seed germination percentage was significant. The study implies that large sized containers (polybag 23 cm x 28 cm) and potting medium soil:sand:vc (1:1:1) should be used to get better growth of Oroxylum indicum seedlings.