Effect of sources of nutrients on growth, flowering, and microbial enzymatic activities in post-harvested soil of gladiolus (Gladiolus hybridus Hort.) cv. snow princess

The current study examines the role of vermicompost (VC), microorganism consortia, and 100%, 75%, and 50% of the prescribed dosage of chemical fertilizers on growth, flowering and post-harvest life of gladiolus cut flowers. Moreover, the availability of Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium (NPK), soil microbial and enzymatic activities in postharvested soil of all treatments were also assessed. It was observed that plants treated with T3 containing 10 tons vermicompost /ha + 2 g Azotobacter + 2 g Phosphorus-solubilizing bacteria (PSB) + 2 g Potassium-solubilizing bacteria (KSB) + 2 g Zinc-solubilizing Bacteria (ZSB) per m2 of area with early 50% sprouting, the maximum no. of shoots and leaves. While in treatment T5 (75% Recommended dose of fertilizer (RDF)/ha + 6 tons Vermicompost /ha + 2 g Azotobacter + 2 g of Phosphorus-solubilizing bacteria (PSB) + 2 g of KSB + 2 g of Zinc-solubilizing Bacteria (ZSB) per m2 of area resulted in maximum plant height, minimum days to visibility of the first spike, opening of flowers, and 50% blooming of flowers with maximum diameter of flower, length of rachis, maximum number of spikes/corm, and number of florets/spikes. Moreover, treatment T6 (50% Recommended dose of fertilizer (RDF)/ha + 8 ton vermicompost /ha + 2 g Azotobacter + 2 g Phosphorus-solubilizing bacteria (PSB) + 2 g (Potassium-solubilizing bacteria) KSB + 2 g Zinc-solubilizing Bacteria (ZSB) per m2 area) exhibited the longest vase life of spikes and maximum NPK content in the post-harvested soil. However, T1 (No RDF and organic manure) exhibited the lowest performance in all observations among all the treatments. Soil health, including microbial activities like soil bacteria, soil fungi, soil actinomycetes, total soil microbial population, and enzymatic activities like urease, acid phosphatase activity, and dehydrogenase activity, was boosted by the treatment T3. The findings highlight the potential of integrating organic and inorganic nutrient sources to enhance growth, flowering, and sustain soil microbial enzymatic activities in gladiolus cultivation. This approach can promote both crop productivity and soil health for long-term sustainability.