Effect of levels of nitrogen and phosphorus on growth, seed yield and quality of China aster

An experiment was conducted at Satpuda Botanical Garden, College of Agriculture, Nagpur, from October 2024 to March 2025 to evaluate the effect of levels of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) on the growth, seed yield and quality of china aster. The study followed a factorial randomized block design with nine treatment combinations, including three nitrogen levels (150, 187.5, 225 kg ha-1) and three phosphorus levels (50, 62.5, and 75 kg ha-1) with three replications. The findings indicated that, the highest plant height (69.71 cm), number of branches (15.32), plant spread (N-S 28.23 cm, E-W 27.55 cm), number of flower plant-1, seed yield ha-1, weight of flower, diameter of flower, test weight (1.26 g) were observed with application of 225 kg nitrogen ha-1. Phosphorus application also had a significant effect on china aster. The highest plant height (68.63 cm), number of branches (14.32), plant spread (N-S 27.62 cm, E-W 26.87 cm), number of flower plant-1 (28.54), seed yield ha-1 (119.42 kg), weight of flower (4.14 cm), diameter of flower (6.43 cm), test weight (1.26 g) were observed with application of 62.5 kg phosphorus ha-1. The most effective combination was 225 kg N ha-1 and 62.5 kg P ha-1 for producing highest seed yield and superior seed quality in china aster.