Distribution of Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium, Calcium, Magnesium and Sulphur in Different Orchid Species of Sikkim

The research was conducted to find out the distribution of different nutrients in the leaves of naturally growing plants of various orchid species like Btilbophyllutn, Coelogyne, Dendrobium, Eria and Paphiopedilum during active vegetative stage. Most recent fully developed leaves were collected from the plant and analyzed for nutrient composition. The total N content varied from 2.0 to 8.7 with a mean of 3.81g/kg dry matter, total P content varied from 0.3 to 2.3 with a mean of 1.02 g/kg dry matter, total K varied from 3.2 to 14.3 with a mean of 8.66 g/kg dry matter, total Ca varied from 14.3 to 38.3 with a mean of 23.97 g/kg dry matter, total mg varied from 2.4 to 28.4 with a mean of 13.29 g/kg dry matter and total S content varied from 0.16 to 0.86 with a mean of 0.35 g/kg dry matter in the leaves of orchid species. The average N: P: K ratio among the various orchid species found to be 3.73:1:8.5. The water content of orchids showed a positive correlation with its P, K, Ca and Mg content and a negative correlation with N and S content. The linear regression analysis indicated that water content of orchids were significantly influenced by K, Ca, and Mg content of orchids at the level of 41.74, 65.67 and 21.44 %, respectively.