Agronomic Manipulation in Brahmi (Bacopa monnieri) Cultivation For Higher Productivity in Assam Plains

Brahmi [Bacopa monnieri (L.) Wettst] is one of the most popular medicinal herb in Indian Pharmacopeia. It has been used as brain tonic and mind refresher in Ayurvedic, Homoeopathic, Siddha and Folk medicines. Realizing the importance of scientific support for the sustainable and large scale production of Brahmi, an agronomic trial was conducted with an aim to develop an acclimatized package of cultivation practices for the plains of Assam. The experiment was conducted at the Instructional-cum-Research Farm of Assam Agricultural University (AAU) under medium-land rainfed conditions during summer season. The study revealed that the crop is very sensitive to soil nutrient status, spacing and availability of moisture in the soil. Addition of organic manure resulted faster spread and ground coverage of the crop and the optimum dose was determined as 2t ha⁻¹ enriched compost. Organic manure improved the soil health by increasing the organic carbon content nearly to 17 per cent after the first harvest of the crop and also improved the water holding capacity of the soil. The planting of 12 to 15 cm long rooted slips with a spacing of 20 cm between rows and 10 cm between plants resulted faster ground coverage that gave better competitive ability of the crop against the associated weeds. The highest yield (144.17 g m⁻²) on dry weight basis was obtained with the application of 2t ha⁻¹ enriched compost at spacing of 20cm x 10cm, after 6 months of planting. In addition, this treatment also yielded 996 numbers m⁻² of rooted slips. The results were very promising for acceptance of Brahmi for commercial cultivation and entrepreneurship development