Comparative Study between Organic Liquid Fertilizer and Commercial Liquid Fertilizer and Their Growth Performances on Mustard Greens

Abstract

Organic liquid fertilizers (OLF) are made up of essential plant nutrients, as well as beneficial microbes that assist in the recycling of organic waste. The purpose of this study was to determine the macronutrient content of organic liquid fertilizers and compare the growth performance of mustard greens under Wick System hydroponic conditions. Market wastes also known as vegetable wastes, were utilized to produce organic liquid fertilizers and compare it to commercial fertilizer (Nutrient Solution, NS). The vegetable wastes were fermented with water and Effective Microorganisms (EM) Bokashi separately. The ratios used for fermentation are 2 kilograms of vegetable wastes, 0.5 litres of water and 100 grams of EM Bokashi. A parameter study on the OLF and OLF with Bokashi to determine the nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) were done. Thereafter, four Wick System (pure water, OLF, OLF with Bokashi and NS) were setup to monitor the growth performance of mustard greens twice a week. The organic liquid fertilizers are produced after 40 days of fermentation and used at a dilution of 1: 10 in the hydroponic system. The OLF and OLF with Bokashi showed the ranges of pH values as 5.1 and 4.6 respectively. The results for the hydroponic system showed that OLF demonstrated the best growth performance. The number and size of leaves and the height of the plants in the NS hydroponic system were almost similar to the plants in OLF hydroponic system. The colour of plants in OLF changed slightly to yellowish green towards the end of the growing season. The life spent of mustard greens in OLF with Bokashi hydroponic system was the least compared to other hydroponic system. This study showed that organic liquid fertilizer is as effective as commercial liquid fertilizer. Considering, it has all the nutrients that plants need to grow.