An experiment was carried out at the Orchid house of the Department of Botany, Panjab University, Chandigarh during February-May, 2022. The experiment was laid out in Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with 9 treatments, each treatment replicated thrice. The effect of 9 different potting media (comprising charcoal pieces, coconut husk, brick pieces, mango bark, and Pinus bark, alone, and in combinations) on the various vegetative growth parameters of Rhynchosty/is retusa {L.) Blume was studied. It was observed that potting media have profound influence on different growth parameters of the species. The maximum number of leaves per plant was recorded in treatment T7 (12.00±1.15) [charcoal pieces + brick pieces + coconut husk (coir) + mango bark + Pinus bark] followed by treatment T6{11±2.0B) [coconut husk {coir) + charcoal pieces + mango bark + Pinus bark], and Tl {B.00±0.00) [charcoal pieces]. Similarly, maximum number of new buds formation also occurred in T7 {2.66±0.33) treatment followed by T6 {2.00±0.00) treatment and minimum number of new buds were formed in T3 (1.00±0.00) treatment. Maximum leaf length and width was reported in T7 {8.24±0.001 and 1.55±0.002, respectively) followed by T6 (6.45±0.003 and 1.44±0.008, respectively) media and minimum leaf length and width was reported in T3 {4.34±0.07 and 0.94±0.003, respectively) medium. The experimental findings showed that the maximum growth was obtained in T7 followed by T6 due to better growing environment for the plant, which probably resulted in enhancing the leaf number, leaf width and length, and formation of new vegetative buds. There was a general trend i.e., T7, T6, Tl,TS, TB, T4, T2, T5, and T3 which was observed in order of preference for the potting media by presently investigated orchid.
https://doi.org/10.64873/JOSI.v37.i1-2.68-75