Agricultural waste as growing media component for the growth and flowering of Gerbera jamesonii cv. hybrid mix

Purpose This study was performed to investigate theimpact of various agricultural wastes as potting media ongrowth, yield, and quality flower production of Gerberajamesonii L. cv. hybrid mix, and to estimate hazardousimpact of chemical fertilizers.Method The effect of four agricultural substrates viz.farm yard manure, coconut coir dust, Lahore compost(local produce), and leaf compost combined with conventionalmedia i.e., garden soil, sand, and silt in equal proportionwas studied for commercial production of gerbera.All the treatment combinations were arranged into completelyrandomized design with three replicates.Result Visible variations in morphological characterswere evidenced among conventional medium and agriculturalwaste as substrates with significant superiority offlower quality and plant growth. The presented resultsshowed that treatment combination of silt, coconut coirdust, and top soil (SCT) produced maximum plant heightwhile mixture of silt, Lahore compost and top soil (SLT)gave maximum number of leaves per plant and maximumflower stalk thickness. The highest values for leaf area,number of roots, flower fresh to dry weight ratio andnumber of flowers per plant were achieved in combinationof silt, farm yard manure, and top soil (SFT) whereas silt,sand, and top soil (SST) presented maximum flowerdiameter, maximum fresh, and dry weight of flowers.Chemical characteristics of growing media showed superiorityof silt, farm yard manure, and top soil (SFT) and silt,sand, and top soil (STL) for available phosphorus andpotassium with values of 27.0 and 500 ppm, respectively.Conclusion It was concluded that the application of wastematerials in combination with silt provided positive resultsfor vegetative and reproductive growth of Gerbera jamesoniiplants.