Production of oregano (Lippia graveolens Kunth) seedling from seeds in nursery for transplanting

The production of oregano plants in nursery is an option for the production of high quality transplanting plants. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of five growing media mixtures and five types of containers on the growth and quality of oregano plants. The growing media mixtures consisted of the commercial mixture BM2 (peat moss, perlite and vermiculite 80:10:10), BM2 with river sand (1:1), BM2 with river sand (1.5:1), BM2 with perlite and vermiculite (1:1:1) and a mixture of compost with river sand (1.5:1). The containers included expanded polystyrene trays of 200, 128 and 76 cavities, 250-mL polystyrene pots and 712-mL black plastic bags (caliber 150 mu m). A randomized complete block design with factorial arrangement of treatment with four replications per treatment was used. The growing media and the type of container affected the growth and quality of the plant. Higher plant growth and higher leaf area was observed in the combination of bag and growing medium BM2, which led to the highest Dickson quality index. Shoot and root dry weight ratio was higher in larger volume containers.