THE EFFECTS OF DIFFERENT RATIO OF VERMICOMPOST AS POTTING MEDIA ON THE GROWTH AND YIELD OF PECHAY (Brassica rapa L.)

This experiment was conducted at the Block 4 Lot 16 Employees Village, Brgy. Fatima, General Santos City from May to June 2021 in order to evaluate the efficacy of vermicompost as potting media on the growth and yield of pechay.
A Completely Randomized Design (CRD) was used with five treatments replicated five times and two sub-samples per treatment in each replication. The treatments consisted of the following: T1 - Control (No application); T2- Garden soil +Vermicompost (75:25%); T3 -Garden soil +Vermicompost (50:50%); T4 -Garden soil + Vermicompost (25:75%); and T5 - Vermicompost (100%).
The results indicated that application of 50% vermicompost appears to improve plant weight, but failed to substantially increase total yield per pot. However, when vermicompost was increased further (75%), plant weight, leaf length, and total yield per pot had increased significantly in comparison to control as well as to other levels of vermicompost. This strikes a chord, especially when potting media was made to be of pure vermicompost (100%), causing all three parameters (plant weight, leaf length, yield per pot) to fall significantly in comparison to 75% vermicompost.
In conclusion, efficacy of vermicompost as component for potting media peaks at 75%, especially in terms of plant weight, leaf length, and yield per pot, where its performance in the three parameters were significantly highest. However, it is recommended to conduct follow-up study on the properties of vermicompost (chemical and physical), in order to further understand its nature and create meaningful correlations with growth and yield performances and thus allow better optimization of its utility.