Granite powder as a substitute for sand in nursery mixture for black pepper (Piper nigrum L)

Abstract

Black pepper is commonly propagated through rooting of cuttings using potting mixture consisting of soil, sand, and farmyard manure in 2:1:1 proportion. Use of sand in potting mixture is uneconomical due to non-availability and cost of the material. Substituting sand with granite powder, a waste material obtained from stone quarries, is more economical. Rate of leaf production (4.6), leaf area (136.8 cm2), and biomass (3.9 g) of black pepper rooted cuttings were higher for combinations of soil (S), granite powder (G) and farmyard manure (F) (SGF 2:1:1), followed by (SGF 1:1:1), soil, granite powder and coir pith compost (CPC) (SG CPC 1:1:1) and soil, granite powder, Azospirillum and Phosphobacteria (SG A+P 1:1:1). Production cost of rooted cuttings was less for SGF 2:1:1 and SGF 1:1:1 compared to control.