Effect of biofertilizers on the survival and growth of air-layered saplings of West Indian cherry (Malpighia glabra L.)

This study evaluated the efficacy of air layering in combination with biofertilizer treatments for the successful propagation of West Indian cherry (Malpighia glabra L.) during 2022–2023 at the North Farm, School of Agricultural Sciences, Karunya Institute of Technology and Sciences, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India. Air layering was performed on a 9-year-old tree using 1-year-old, pencil-thick shoots of 60 cm length. Once rooted, the air layers were gradually detached from the mother plant and transplanted into polybags. Biofertilizer treatments were applied to the potting medium and as soil drenches, including Trichoderma viride (3 g L-1), vermiwash (1 %), humic acid (20 g L-1), Azospirillum brasilense (2 g kg-1 planting medium), plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR; 10 g plant-1) and vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhiza (VAM; 100 g plant-1), along with an untreated control. Data recorded at 60 days after detachment (DAD) showed that vermiwash @ 1 % (T3) significantly enhanced shoot and root growth parameters. It resulted in the highest plant height (45.23 cm), number of leaves (38.22), number of shoots (6.45), survival percentage (81.04 %), root length (13.80 cm), primary roots (26.31), secondary roots (78.23) and root diameter (4.88 mm). The improved performance under vermiwash treatment is attributed to its rich content of plant growth regulators, enzymes, micronutrients and beneficial microbes, which positively influenced both vegetative and root development. The results underscore the potential of integrating air layering with nutrient-enriched organic treatments like vermiwash to enhance the propagation efficiency and field establishment of West Indian cherry. The objective of this study was to identify an effective biofertilizer-based strategy to enhance survival, growth and nursery establishment of air-layered West Indian cherry saplings.