Cow manure and sawdust vermicompost effect on nutrition and growth of ornamental foliage plants

During this experiment, the effects of cow manure and cow manure + sawdust vermicompost replacement instead of peat in the growth media were investigated on the growth of ornamental foliage plants Aglaonema (Chinese evergreen), Dracaena marginata and Spathiphyllum wallisii. To produce vermicompost, cow manure and cow manure + sawdust (volume ratio 80 to 20) was added to Eisenia fetida earthworm medium. After preparation of vermicomposts for preparation of growth media, volumetric values of 25, 50, 75, and 100% vermicompost of cow manure and cow manure + sawdust replaced peat in the control (peat + perlite with a volume ratio of 2 to 1). After preparing the growth media, rooted cuttings were planted in them. Measured factors were nitrogen, potassium, calcium and magnesium in leaves and growth medium, height, diameter, fresh weight of stems and leaves, dry weight of stems and leaves and fresh and dry weight of plant roots. The results showed that increasing the levels of two types of vermicompost in peat replacement increased nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium and magnesium of the leaves in Aglaonema, Dracaena marginata and Spathiphyllumwallisii. With increasing two types of vermicompost in the growth medium, water holding capacity increased compared to peat and 100% vermicompost had the highest water holding capacity. Application of 25% of each vermicompost increased the height, diameter, fresh weight and dry weight of branches and leaves in plants compared to the control. Due to the problems caused by the accumulation of sawdust in the environment and the high cost of peat in the ornamental plant industry, the use of 25% cow manure + sawdust vermicompost is a more economical recommendation.