Ornamental plants
rasoul abaszadeh faruji; abdollah hatam zadeh; Ahmad Sharifi; Mahdiyeh Kharrazi
Abstract
IntroductionLight is recognized as a vital factor for plant growth and development. Plants convert light energy into chemical energy through photosynthesis, which is then used for growth and development. Quality, intensity, and photoperiod are among the factors that directly affect plant growth and development ...
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IntroductionLight is recognized as a vital factor for plant growth and development. Plants convert light energy into chemical energy through photosynthesis, which is then used for growth and development. Quality, intensity, and photoperiod are among the factors that directly affect plant growth and development processes. In recent years, Light-Emitting Diode (LED) technology has gained significant popularity in agriculture due to its numerous advantages over traditional light sources. These advantages include the ability to produce various light spectra, low energy consumption, long lifespan, and reduced heat emission. These characteristics have made LEDs an ideal light source for cultivating plants in controlled environments such as greenhouses and growth chambers. The primary objective of this study was to investigate the effects of different LED light qualities on the morphological, physiological, and germination traits of marigold (Tagetes erecta) seeds. Given the importance of light in plant growth and the benefits of LED technology, this study can provide valuable insights for improving crop cultivation and production.Materials and MethodsThis experiment was conducted in the Biotechnology Laboratory of Horticultural Plants in the Academic Center for Education, Culture and Research of Khorasan Razavi. F1 hybrid seeds were used in this study. The experimental treatments consisted of five light qualities: white light (100%), blue light (100%), red light (100%), 30% blue light + 70% red light, and 70% blue light + 30% red light. All treatments were subjected to a 16-hour light and 8-hour dark photoperiod using LED grow lights. The photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) was maintained at a constant 100 μmol.m⁻².s⁻¹ for all light treatments. Seed germination parameters (Seed Germination percentage, Mean germination Time, Germination rate, Radicle length, Plumule length, lateral roots number, Plumule fresh weight, Radicle fresh weight, Plumule dry weight and Radicle dry) were initially measured in Petri dishes under the growth panels. Subsequently, seeds were sown and grown under the growth panels, and physiological and morphological parameters including plant height, first internode length, stem diameter, node number, leaf area, leaf length, leaf number, lateral shoot number, shoot fresh weight, shoot dry weight, shoot fresh/ dry weight ratio, root fresh weight, root dry weight, root fresh/ dry weight ratio, dry matter, root length, electrolyte leakage, relative leaf water content and chlorophyll content were measured every 15 days for a total of four measurements. Results and DiscussionSeed germination indices showed that the lowest mean germination time, highest germination rate, longest radicle length, hypocotyl length, number of lateral roots, and fresh weight of radicles were observed under 100% red light treatment, followed by the 70% red + 30% blue light treatment. The application of 100% red light improved germination rate, radicle length, hypocotyl length, number of lateral roots, and fresh weight of radicles by approximately 14%, 29%, 48%, 100%, and 67%, respectively, compared to the control. Plants grown under 100% red light exhibited the greatest plant height at both the beginning and end of the growth period. At the end of the growth stage (75 days after sowing), plants under 100% red light showed increases of approximately 37%, 6%, 33%, and 31% in stem diameter, length of the largest compound leaf, number of leaves, and number of branches, respectively, compared to the white light treatment at the same growth stage. Additionally, the fresh and dry weights of plants increased by approximately 56% and 9%, respectively, compared to the control at the same growth stage. A study of the fresh and dry weights of roots showed that the application of 100% red light increased these two indices by nearly 3 times compared to the control. The lowest fresh and dry root weights were observed under 100% blue light treatment, followed by the 30% red + 70% blue light treatment. Furthermore, plants grown under 100% red light exhibited higher relative water content and lower electrolyte leakage in leaves compared to plants grown under other light treatments.ConclusionsThe research findings indicated that the application of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with various light qualities enhanced the growth conditions of Tagetes erecta Antigua orange. Comparisons among the light treatments showed that the use of 100% red light resulted in increased germination percentage and rate in marigold seeds. Furthermore, the application of red light under controlled conditions led to an increase in plant growth indices compared to other experimental treatments. Therefore, the use of red light at different growth stages of marigold under controlled conditions is recommended
Ornamental plants
Rasul AbaszadehFaruji; Mahmood Shoor; Ali Tehranifar; Bahram Abedy
Abstract
Introduction Unbalanced and frequent use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides results in the degradation of soil physicochemical properties, loss of soil-born organisms, reduction of quality of produced crops and reduction of yield plant. Nowadays, due to environmental considerations of chemical ...
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Introduction Unbalanced and frequent use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides results in the degradation of soil physicochemical properties, loss of soil-born organisms, reduction of quality of produced crops and reduction of yield plant. Nowadays, due to environmental considerations of chemical fertilizers, use of organic acids for quantitative and qualitative improvement of crops has been increased. Humic materials are natural organic compounds that contain 50 to 90% of organic matters of peat, wood coal and rotten material, as well as non-living organic matters of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Humic compounds indirectly increase soil fertility by providing micro- and macro-elements for root, improving soil structure, increasing medium permeability to water and air, increasing soil microbial population and beneficial microorganisms, increasing cation exchange capacity and the ability to buffer pH of medium or nutrient solution, and providing some special substances for plant roots such as nucleic acids and acetamides.Materials and Methods In order to investigate the influence of humic and fulvic acids on some growth characteristics in ornamental plant of Scindapsus spp., an experiment was conducted based on a completely randomized design with three replications at greenhouse in Ferdowsi University of Mashhad during 2014-2015. The first factor was humic acid in four levels of 0, 0.2, 0.5, 1 g/l, and the second factor was fulvic acid in four levels of 0, 0.2, 0.5, 1 g/l. Cuttings were taken from the plant in late March. Two weeks after transferring the rooted cuttings to pot, the treatments were applied on plants via fertigation. The traits measured in the experiment included plant height, mean number of nodes, internode length, leaf number, leaf length, leaf width, leaf area, root length, root fresh weight, leaf fresh weight, shoot fresh weight, aerial organ fresh weight, root volume, aerial organ volume, root dry weight, leaf dry weight, shoot dry weight, aerial organ dry weight, fresh and dry weights ratios of aerial organ to fresh weight. Statistical analysis of data was performed by 8-JMP software. LSD test was used to compare the means of the data.Results and Discussion Based on the results obtained, the combined use of humic acid and fulvic acid had a significant effect on height, fresh and dry weights of leaf, shoot, aerial organ and root, number of node and leaf and volume of aerial organ, fresh and dry weights of root, length and volume of root and the ratio of fresh and dry weights of aerial organ to root. Thus, combined use of humic acid and fulvic acid caused an increase in all the measured traits compared to the control treatment. Furthermore, an increase was observed in the length, width, and area of leaf, and internode length as the result of application of humic substances when compared to the control treatment. Organic fertilizers increase plant growth by improving soil conditions and increasing availability of plant to nutrients. Humic compounds cause changes in the specific distribution of cytokinins, polyamines and ATP by affecting the activity of root H+-ATPase and the distribution of root nitrate in the stem, thus affecting the growth of the plant stem. Humic materials increase plant growth by using different mechanisms such as hormonal effects, direct effect on plant cell metabolism, increase of cell division, chelating power and nutrient uptake, increase of soil ventilation and enhancement of plant photosynthesis by increasing Rubisco enzyme activity. Increasing nitrogen uptake leads to the increase in the growth of shoots and aerial organs. It also increases the number of branches in plants and increases the production of dry matter by increasing the production of photosynthetic materials.Conclusion In general, according to the results of this experiment, it can be concluded that application of humic substances (humic acid and fulvic acid) together, improved the growth characteristics of the plant and led to the better growth of the plant; therefore, these materials can be a good alternative to plant growth-stimulating chemical fertilizers.
Rasul AbaszadehFaruji; Mahmood Shoor; Ali Tehranifar; Bahram Abedy; Nasim Safari
Abstract
Introduction: Ornamental plants play a vital role in meeting the mental and spiritual needs of peoplethat considered significance from commercial point of view as well. Optimal production of agricultural products requires suitable soil and adequate and absorbable nutrients for plant. Organic materials ...
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Introduction: Ornamental plants play a vital role in meeting the mental and spiritual needs of peoplethat considered significance from commercial point of view as well. Optimal production of agricultural products requires suitable soil and adequate and absorbable nutrients for plant. Organic materials are important because ofimproving soil physical properties and soil fertility. Soil fertility depends on the content oforganic matter as well as the quality, quantity and dynamics of these materials insoil. Organic acids are an important source of organic matter. One of the most abundant forms of organic matter in nature is humic compounds which can be found in all soil and water environment. They play an important role in cation exchange, nutrients release, phosphorus buffering capacity and metal and toxic organic molecules maintenance.
Materials and Methods: In order to evaluate the effect of humic substances on morphological characteristics of geranium, thisexperiment was conducted in research greenhouse of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad during the years 2014 and 2015. The experiment was carried out as factorial based on completely randomized design with two factors and three replications. The first factor hadfour levels of humic acid (0, 0.2, 0.5 and 1 g/l), and the second hadfour levels of fulvic acid (0, 0.2, 0.5 and 1 g/ml). Treatment was usedalong with irrigation. Morphological characteristics included the number of leaves, number of nodes, number of branches, plant height, root length, leaf area, fresh weight of shoot, fresh weight of leaf, fresh weight of root, dry weight of shoot, dry weight of leaf, dry weight of root, volume of shoots, volume of root, fresh weight of shoot were measured at the end of the experiment. Statistical analysis of the results was performed by using Jmp-8 software. Charts were drawn using Excel 2010 and difference among treatments means were compared with LSD test.
Results and Discussion: The results of means comparison showed that combined use of humic acid and fulvic acid hadpositive effects on growth traits such as height, internode length, root length, fresh weight of shoot, fresh weight of root, fresh weight of leaf, dry weight of shoot, dry weight of leaf, volume of shoot, volume of root and leaf area. Research had shown that the application of humic fertilizers increased nitrogen content in shoots of the plant. It wasreported that nitrogen compounds existed in humic acid are important factors affecting the growth of plants. Humic acid also increasedshoot growth by increasing the uptake of nitrogen, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, manganese, zinc, iron and copper as well as hormone-like properties. It wasalso found that humic acid enhancedplant growth by increasing the activity of the RuBisCO enzyme and the subsequent increase in photosynthetic activity. Furthermore, humic acid reduced the pH of alkaline soils and causedthe nitrogen to be absorbed to a greater extent. The use of humic substances increased the leaf area and thus photosynthesis, therefore leading to the production of more dry matter in plants. Humic fertilizers also had a significant effect on root growth. Researchers had suggested that the presence of oxygen groups in humic acid increased lateral root growth. Although humic acid increased the growth of both root and shoot, its effectiveness on the root system wasmore evident.
Conclusions: This experiment was conducted with the aims of evaluating the effect of humic organic fertilizers, reducing the harmful effects of chemical fertilizers and improving the quality of plant growth in geranium. According to the results obtained from the present research, it can be concluded that combined application of humic acid and fulvic acid had greater effects on the majority of traits compared to the sole application of aforementioned compounds.
