ORGANIC CULTIVATION OF MEDICINAL PLANTS: INFLUENCE OF COMPOSTED COIR PITH ON THE GROWTH AND YIELD OF COLEUS FORSKOHLII (WILLD.) BRIQ

Abstract

Coleus forskohlii (willd.) Briq. is a native plant of India. The therapeutic properties of forskolin, the main diterpene constituent of this plant, contributed to the emergence of C. forskohlii as an important taxon in modern medicine. In the present study, composted coir pith (CCP) was used as an organic fertilizer and its effect on the growth, the primary metabolite, and secondary metabolite (forskolin) of C. forskohlii were studied. The CCP was amended to the soil in the plots at the rate of 5 t h−1 (T1), 10 t h−1 (T2), and 15 t h−1 (T3). The control plots were left unamended. It was found that CCP increased the growth and development of C. forskohlii in fields amended with 15 t h−1 (T3). The activity of the three prime soil enzymes, namely, urease, phosphatase, and dehydrogenase in the rhizosphere soil of C. forskohlii also increased with an increase in the quantum of CCP amended to the soil.