Vol. 9, Special Issue 12, Part P (2025)

Papaya (Carica papaya L.) is an important tropical fruit crop; however, its commercial nursery production is often limited by slow, uneven and poor seed germination. Seed germination in papaya is influenced by the physical, chemical and biological properties of the growing medium. Therefore, the present study was undertaken to evaluate the effect of different growing media on seed germination of papaya under the agro-climatic conditions of Bemetara district of Chhattisgarh. The experiment was conducted during 2024-25 at the Horticulture Research Farm, College of Horticulture and Research Station, Saja, Bemetara (C.G.). The experiment was laid out in a Completely Randomized Design with ten treatments and three replications, comprising various combinations of garden soil, sand, farmyard manure (FYM), vermicompost and cocopeat. Observations were recorded on seed germination parameters including days taken to start germination, rate of emergence, germination percentage, germination index, seedling vigour index-I and seedling vigour index-II. The results revealed significant differences among the growing media for all germination parameters studied. Among the treatments, vermicompost + sand + garden soil (1:1:1) with 3 cm cocopeat (T₉) recorded the earliest initiation of germination (6.07 days), highest rate of emergence (249.29%), maximum germination percentage (94.78%) and superior germination index (4.25). Treatments containing vermicompost or FYM with cocopeat topping consistently performed better than sand or garden soil alone. The lowest germination performance was observed under garden soil without any organic amendment. The enhanced germination under vermicompost and cocopeat-based media may be attributed to improved moisture retention, aeration, nutrient availability and favourable microbial activity, which collectively promoted rapid and uniform seed germination. The study concludes that vermicompost-based growing media supplemented with cocopeat are highly effective for improving seed germination of papaya in nursery conditions.