Effect of Different Growing Media Compositions on Seed Germination and Seedling Growth of Papaya (Carica papaya L.) cv. Pusa Nanha

Papaya (Carica papaya L.) is a fast-growing, herbaceous tropical fruit crop belonging to the family Caricaceae. Indigenous to Central America and Southern Mexico, it is now widely cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions, with India ranking among the leading producers worldwide. Among the various cultivars grown in India, Pusa Nanha is a dwarf, gynodioecious papaya variety specifically developed for a high-density plantation system. The present study was conducted to enhance seed germination and seedling growth of papaya using various combinations of growing media. The experiment was laid out in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) consisting of thirteen treatments with three replications. The treatments comprised various combinations of vermicompost, farmyard manure (FYM), leaf litter, and cocopeat. The result of the study revealed that the growing media combination T13 (Vermicompost + FYM + Leaf litter) showed superior performance over all other treatments, recording the fastest initial germination (16.14 days), highest germination per cent (82.10 %) and maximum survival per cent (90.11 %). Additionally, this combination also produced seedlings with superior growth characteristic, including the maximum plant height (58.14 cm), shoot diameter (16.34 mm), thickest root diameter (11.26 mm), highest number of leaves (24.41), longest root length (31.24cm), maximum shoot fresh and dry biomass (102.20 g and 30.19 g, respectively), maximum root fresh and dry biomass (28.17 g and 9.66 g, respectively) and maximum total fresh and dry biomass (130.24 g and 39.85 g, respectively).