Effects of liquid seaweed extracts in improving the agronomic performance of foxtail millet

Abstract

In recent decades, chemical fertilizers create a thread to organic agriculture and food security. To overcome this issue, the present study aimed to investigate the influence of liquid seaweed extracts (LSEs) prepared from Padina boergesenii (PB) and Gracilaria edulis (GE) on growth, development, biochemical characteristics and yield traits of foxtail millet. The various concentrations of individual (20, 40, 60, and 80%; v/v) and combined (10 + 10, 20 + 20, 30 + 30, and 40 + 40%; v/v) PB and GE LSEs were supplied through foliar spray method. The results imply that germination bioassays, vegetative plant growth were significantly increased in lower concentration of LSEs. Further, exposure of foxtail plants to combined foliar spray application of (20 + 20%; v/v) LSEs enriched photosynthetic pigments, total soluble sugar and total soluble protein, compared with single LSEs and control foliar spray methods. Additionally, LSEs enhanced the yield attributes such as the average number of seeds (971.5/panicle) and mean length of panicle (18.4 cm) in PB + GE LSEs (20 + 20%; v/v) treatment. This is the first report, to assess the synergistic biostimulant ability of PB and GE LSEs in plant growth, quality improvement and yield attributes of foxtail millet. In conclusion, this present study suggests that combination of PB + GE LSEs foliar spray application could serve as an ideal biostimulant and a potential alternate to hazards chemical fertilizer in the green agriculture.