Response of L. leucocephala L. (IpilIpil) to Different Soil Media and Phosphorus Fertilization

The research was conducted in shade house to investigate the effect of different soil media and phosphorus (P) fertilization in tubes on early growth of the Leucaenaleucocephala. Three growth media sandy medium (only sand), clayey medium (sand and clayey soil ratio; 1:1) and farm yard manure (FYM) medium (sand, clayey soil and FYM ratio; 1:1:1) were prepared. Each medium was fertilized with three rates of phosphorus, i.e., 0, 20, 40 mg P kg-1 medium. Nitrogen and potassium were also applied as basal dose @ 50 N and 100 mg K2O kg-1 media, respectively. The results indicated that shoot length (20 cm), root length (16 cm), shoot dry weight (947 mg plant-1) and root dry weight (134 mg plant-1) were the highest in FYM medium with 20 mg P kg-1. The P concentration in shoot and root, total P uptake and P recovery were also significantly improved when plants were grown in FYM medium supplied with 20 mg P kg-1. It is concluded from this study that L. leucocephalaseedling growth was improved with P application, particularly in FYM medium compared to clayey and sandy media. Further, the P level i.e. 20 mg P Kg -1 was found best among all P rates used. This shows the significance of P and FYM medium in improving growth for the best survival of L. leucocephala seedlings and its raising for plantation on large scale

Potasssium chloride as a nutrient seed primer to enhance salt‑tolerance in maize

The objective of this work was to determine if KCl could be a useful nutrient primer for safe seed germination in maize crop under salt stress conditions. Seed priming was done using 50 mmol L‑1 of muriate of potash, and germination and seedling growth were evaluated after salt stress with NaCl up to 50 mmol L‑1. Another set of seeds was tested under the same salt stress conditions without priming. Under salinity stress, germination percentage, germination rate index, germination coefficient, and seedling vigor indexes were higher in primed seeds. In unprimed seeds, mean germination time increased, while the germination rate index and the fresh and dry matter mass decreased more sharply with salinity stress. The Na/K ratio was higher in unprimed seeds