Effect of Water Soluble Fertilizers on Growth and Yield of Dendrobium Orchid cv. Earsakul

An experiment was conducted at a private farm-M/s. Rynco Orchids, Perumchilambu village, Thuckalay, Kanyakumari District, Tamil Nadu (India) during 2012–2014 to evaluate the effect of five water soluble fertilizers at different N, P and K ratios and at two different doses on growth and yield of Dendrobium orchid cv. Earsakul. The results revealed that application of 30: 10: 10 (0.4%) increased the plant height (37.63 cm), pseudobulb circumference (4.93 cm), number of pseudobulbs per plant (6.89), number of leaves per plant (29.85), leaf length (14.77 cm), leaf width (5.33 cm), leaf area (56.94 cm²), yield (4.56 spikes/plant/year) and spike quality parameters such as, spike length (38.10 cm), number of florets per spike (7.89), floret length (8.27 cm), floret width (8.40 cm) and vase life (22.33 days). Flower bud initiation was earlier (117.67 days) and flower quality was also enhanced in plants treated with 20: 20: 20 (0.2%) + 13: 27: 27 (0.4%).