Effect of Growth Media on Seed Germination and Seedling Growth in Papaya ( Carica papaya L.) Cv. Red Lady

The study was carried out to explore the effect of growth media on seed germination and seedling growth in papaya cv. Red Lady. Three types of media with three levels of cocopeat were studied. The experiment was laid out in Completely Randomized Design, with nine treatment combinations, and replicated thrice. Results showed that the medium Vermicompost + Sand + Pond soil (1:1:1) with 2cm cocopeat layer on top of the polybag (T₉) gave highest germination rate (92.71%), maximum speed of emergence (493.34), highest seed vigour (89.33), maximum germination index (7.18), highest germination value (25.58), the least time required for imbibition (9.37 days) and minimum time taken to germination (3.22 days). Medium T₉ was also found to be the best for growth of 'Red Lady' papaya seedlings as it gave the highest values for seedling growth parameters like seedling height (23.05cm), leaf area (339.26cm²), number of leaves (9.84), stem diameter (3.32mm), number of ischolar_mains (16.68), ischolar_main length (9.93cm), total biomass (4.89g plant^-1) and lowest ischolar_main/shoot ratio (0.21). This treatment significantly reduced seedling mortality and produced maximum number of healthy seedlings (92.69%) in minimum number of days (35.24), showing the highest net profit (Rs. 3470.65/1000 seedlings) and benefit:cost ratio (1.84) seedling production.