Effect of Organic Amendments and Shade Levels on Growth Performances of Diabetic Plant (Gynura procumbens)

Abstract

The diabetic plant (Gynura procumbens) also recognized as a diabetic plant, contains many medicinal values but is rarely available in local markets and near at hand. Indoor gardening can help in getting the plant within reach easily. The research was conducted to investigate the growth performance of G. procumbens under various organic amendments and shade levels. The experiment was consisted of two factors: different organic amendments and shade levels. Under the first factor, three organic amendments, namely O1= Cow dung, O2= vermicompost, and O3= Trichocompost were included and under the second factor, two shade levelsviz. S1= Full shade (4×100 lux) and S2= Semi-shade (125×100 lux) were imposed. The experiment was designed in a factorial Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications. Plant height (cm), number of leaves, and number of stems per plant were measured and statistically analyzed at 50, 80, and 110 days after transplanting. Means were compared with the DMRT values. Results revealed that, the treatment combination of trichocompost and semi-shade (O3S2) showed highly significant maximum number of leaves (159.33) and stems (18.67) at 110 DAT (p ≤ 0.01). Trichocompost (O3) under semi-shade (S2) condition performed as the best practice for G. procumbens plant growth. Therefore, application of trichocompost under semi-shade conditions could be recommended for Gynura procumbens cultivation.