Abstract
An experiment at Egerton University in Kenya studied effects of vermicomposts and bioslurry on growth, yield and postharvest quality in statice. Three vermicomposts prepared from Kitchen waste (V1), mowed lawn grass (V2) and Weed biomass (V3) were mixed at a rate of 40% by volume with garden soil and tested against the untreated control (V0). Bioslurry from a digester at Tatton Agricultural Park in the university was applied at 7.8 tons/ha (B1) alongside untreated control (B0). The results showed significant differences at P≤0.05 between treatments, where vermicomposts and bioslurry were separately applied compared to the controls. V1 and B1 had the most stems per plant (22.9, 26.0) and (18.7, 19.8) compared to the control (15.2, 18.1) in season 1 and 2 respectively. The number of stems per plant increased to 26.3 in season 1 and 27 in season 2 in the plots treated with both Kitchen waste vermicompost and bioslurry (V1 × B1). The flower stem lengths were higher under V1 treatment (80.9 and 95.8) cm but similar to V3 which recorded 78.9 and 92.2 cm in season 1 and 2 respectively. In season 1 and 2 respectively, bioslurry treatment (B1) recorded flower stem length of 80.0 and 92.8 cm, compared to the control (53.4 and 64.7 cm). Combined treatment V1 × B1 increased flower stem lengths to 104.1 and 121.1 cm in season 1 and 2 respectively. In season 1 and 2 respectively, V3 × B1 had the longest vase life (22.2 and 22.9 days) when compared to V1 × B1, V2 × B1, V1, V2, V3 and B1 (15.4 to 20.1 days) but all exceeded the untreated plots (11.2 and 12.2 days). Key words: Statice, bioslurry, vermicompost, growth, postharvest.
Highlights
Kenya is among the leading centers of flower production in the world (Gursan and Erkal, 1998), accounting for 6% of the world‟s cut flower exports
Vermicomposts and bioslurry applications significantly affected the parameters of growth, yield, and postharvest quality in statice when observed at P≤0.05 except seedling take off
Application of vermicomposts and bioslurry on statice had significant main and combined effects on the number of stems produced per plant, flower stem length attained at 60 days after transplanting, the number of days to flowering and the fresh weight of flower stems at harvest when compared with the control at P≤0.05
Summary
Kenya is among the leading centers of flower production in the world (Gursan and Erkal, 1998), accounting for 6% of the world‟s cut flower exports. The main export destinations are European countries that include Germany (18%), the United Kingdom (17%), and the United States of America (16%) (Hornberger et al, 2007). There is an urgent need for diversification of products and markets to sustain competitiveness of the Kenyan flower industry (Rikken, 2011). This calls for deliberate inclusion of Kenyan smallholders in Floriculture.
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