Effect of nitrogen on growth, nutrient assimilation, essential oil content, yield and quality attributes in Zingiber officinale Rosc.

A simple randomized pot experiment was conducted to determine the effect of different concentrations of nitrogen (N) on growth, biochemical, quality and yield attributes of Zingiber officinale Rosc. a medicinally important spice plant. Plants were supplied with five levels of basal nitrogen viz. 0 (Control), 40, 80, 120 and 160 kg N per ha. The performance of the crop was adjudged in terms of various parameters viz. plant height, number of leaves, fresh and dry weights of shoot and rhizome, total chlorophyll content, leaf and rhizome NPK content, rhizome carbohydrate and protein content, and analysed at 120 and 180 days after planting (DAP). The data revealed that nitrogen application significantly stimulated most of the studied attributes. Of the five N concentrations, 120 kg N per ha soil proved optimum for most of the parameters studied as compared to the control at both crop stages.