Synergistic effects of bamboo shoot and seaweed extracts on the growth, production, and quality of senna (Cassia angustifolia Vahl.)

Abstract

This paper examined the synergistic interactions between bamboo shoot extract (BSE) and seaweed extract (SWE) as foliar biostimulants on the growth (Cassia angustifolia Vahl.), yield, and quality of Indian Senna (variety Sona). The rising need for organic farming inputs, along with the necessity to continue increasing medicinal plant productivity without adversely affecting the environment, has spurred interest in bio-based growth regulators as an alternative to synthetic agrochemicals. A randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications was adopted in two consecutive kharif seasons (June 2023 and 2024) of the CSIR-CIMAP Research Centre, Boduppal, Hyderabad, to test the seven treatment combinations of BSE with different graded doses of 125–750 g per 1000 mL in the presence of a constant concentration T6 (625 g BSE + 0.3% SWE) had the most favourable effects under all parameters: plant height (83.74 cm), pod yield (462.53 kg ha ⁻¹), leaf yield (1546.73 kg ha ⁻¹), leaf sennoside content (1.12percent), and pod sennoside content (2.32percent). The principal component analysis (PCA) revealed a large first component (PC1), which captured 95.3% of the overall phenotypic variation, indicating a coherent gradient of biostimulant-mediated response. The Pearson correlation analysis revealed near-perfect inter-trait correlations (r ≥ 0.91; P < 0.01), indicating that the effects of biostimulants are not specific to certain traits but are general to the whole system. The control (T1), which was untreated, produced the lowest values across all parameters. The ratio of benefit to cost (B: C) of T6 also reached the maximum of 2.25, which makes it an economically optimal treatment. The outcomes indicate that the joint foliar application of 625 g BSE and 0.3% SWE is an environmentally sustainable and cost-effective measure to improve the productivity and pharmaceutical quality of C. angustifolia in semi-arid tropical agroecosystems.