Suitability of Different Rooting Media and Length of Cuttings on Growth and Yield Performance of Mint (<em>Mentha</em> spp.)

Abstract

Mint (<em>Mentha</em> spp) is an aromatic perennial herb. It belongs to the family Lamiaceae due to the specific aroma which is popular in world. It's not cultivated commercially in Northern part of Sri Lanka. The present experiment was conducted to evaluate the suitability of different rooting media and cutting lengths on growth and yield performance of Mint (<em>Mentha</em> spp) at Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, Ariviyal Nagar, Kilinochchi during January to March 2019. Two factor factorial experiment was carried out in Complete Randomized Design (CRD) with five replicates, where factor one was rooting media and factor two was cutting length. Six potting media (cattle manure, compost, coir dust, partially burnt paddy husk, goat manure and top soil) and four length of cuttings (6 cm, 9 cm, 12 cm, and 15 cm) were used as treatment combinations. Weather, growth and yield parameters and chemical properties were recorded and data were analyzed in ANOVA using SAS 9.1 package. The means were compared by using Duncan Multiple Range Test. Management practices were performed according to the farmer practices. Growth parameters such as plant height, number of leaves, leaf area, branch number, root length and shoot length, yield parameters such as fresh weight of shoot, fresh weight of root and number of stolon) and chlorophyll content of the leaves were significantly different among rooting media and cutting length. The highest plant height, leaf area, length of shoot, fresh weight of shoot and number of stolon were recorded in the media contain goat manure. Number of leaves, number of branches, root length, fresh weight of root and chlorophyll content were highest in compost containing media. Compost and goat manure containing media showed best performance and gave the highest yield. Among these two media, goat manures gave more yield than compost containing media. Fifteen centimeter length of cutting showed the best performance and gave the highest yield. According to the results, it can be concluded, that 15 cm cutting planted in goat manure containing media is best for mint growth and yield in pots.