Effect of microbial consortia on vegetative growth of gladiolus (cv. Rose supreme) under Tarai region of Uttarakhand

The present experiment entitled Effect of microbial consortia on vegetative growth of gladiolus (cv. Rose supreme) under Tarai region of Uttarakhand was carried out at Modern Floriculture Centre, Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, Udham Singh Nagar, Uttarakhand during 2022-23 and 2023-24. Experiment was conducted in Factorial Randomized Block Design with an additional treatment having three replications. Four different concentrations of microbial consortia, viz., D1 (3 mL L-1), D2 (6 mL L-1), D3 (9 mL L-1) and D4 (12 mL L-1) of water, applied through three distinct methods viz., M1 (Dipping of corms in consortia), M2 (Application by mixing with vermicompost) and M3 (Application of consortia through spray). During 2022-23 and 2023-24, among different methods application of mixing microbial consortia with vermicompost (M2) was recorded superior with respect to different vegetative parameters like 50 per cent sprouting, plant height at 30 and 60 days, number of leaves at 30 and 60 days, length of longest leaf at 60 days, width of longest leaf at 60 days and number of tillers per corm at vegetative stage compared to other methods. Among different doses, higher doses of microbial consortia showed significantly better performance than lower doses.