Influence of Substrate Textural Properties on Early Vegetative Development: A Comparative Analysis of Shoot Elongation Dynamics Across Varying Soil Matrices

This dataset and accompanying manuscript provide an empirical assessment of how soil substrate physical textures influence early plant vegetative growth phases. Conducted as a completely randomized design (CRD) with 30 uniform biological replicates (n = 10 per group) within the University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR) Campus Forest in Sunyani, Ghana (7°20′58″ N, 2°20′37″ W), this research tracks vertical shoot elongation rates across three distinct growing media: Sandy (Code 1), Loamy (Code 2), and Clay (Code 3).  The primary research data was processed and evaluated using parametric variance modeling via IBM SPSS (Version 28.0), executing a One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) paired with a subsequent Tukey’s Honestly Significant Difference (HSD) post-hoc matrix. The empirical outputs reveal a highly significant relationship between localized rhizosphere structural layout and absolute vertical stem development (F(2, 27) = 31.92, p < 0.001). Mixed loamy structures yielded the highest overall mean vegetative performance (16.70 cm ± 1.35 cm), significantly outperforming coarse sandy media (13.20 cm ± 2.16 cm) and dense clay-heavy profiles (9.80 cm ± 2.17 cm).  Tukey’s post-hoc pairwise contrasts confirmed that all multi-group variations were statistically distinct (p < 0.05). The findings quantitatively outline the physical and physiological limits—such as high root penetration resistance and localized anoxic conditions—associated with unamended clay soils, while providing an empirical, data-driven reference for preparing baseline potting matrices in tropical agricultural and forest nursery applications across West Africa.