A study on comparative growth evaluation of integrated nutrient management in menthol mint (Mentha arvensis L.)

A field experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of different nutrient sources on the growth of menthol mint plants. Results of this investigation revealed that treatment T₁₁ [recommended dosage of fertilizers: 150: 60: 60 NPK kg/ha + Arbuscular mychorrhiza fungus (25 kg/ha) + Azotobacter chroococcum + Azospirillum brasilense + Phosphorous solubilizing bacterias (each at 625 g/ha) + panchagavya (3%) + amritpani (3%)+ humic acid (0.2%] recorded the highest plant height (22.24, 28.44, 55.47 and 57.77 cm), spread (22.42, 25.66, 56.08 and 56.40 cm) and number of branches (9.61, 18.39, 44.22 and 48.19) at 45, 60, 90 and 120 days after planting, respectively. Similarly, leaf area at harvest (4355.23 cm²/plant) and fresh herbage yield (494.46 g/plant), were also found to be higher in the treatment T₁₁ whereas, no significant difference was observed in leaf to stem ratio at harvest. Thus, the current investigation suggests that, the treatment combination of recommended dosage of fertilizers, biofertilizers and bioformulations have shown encouraging results in improving the plant growth parameters.