Abstract
PurposeThe beneficial effects of liquid humus applied to plants are well reported in the literature; however, studies of liquid humic application in the production and quality of garlic culture are practically nonexistent. The objective of this work was to evaluate the effects of foliar application of a liquid humic extract from vermicompost (HEVC) that is well characterized by solid-state 13C NMR on garlic production and fruit quality under field conditions.MethodsAfter 45 days in the field, garlic plants received foliar applications of HEVC at three different dilutions: 1:40, 1:60 and 1:80 (v:v). Humic substances (HS) in HEVC were characterized by 13C NMR CP/MAS spectroscopy. At 125 days after planting, the plants were collected, and growth and production parameters were determined: quantity of garlic cloves, fresh and dry bulb, diameter of garlic cloves and bulb, as well as parameters of fruit quality including caliber, firmness, acidity, brix, pungency, carbohydrate and protein contents.ResultsThe structure of HS in HEVC is composed mainly of carbohydrates and peptides as well as lignin fragments, explaining the stimulus effects on plant metabolism. The foliar application of HEVC improves the productive, commercial and internal quality parameters of fruits when compared to the control treatment. The HEVC foliar application in 1:40 v:v ratio was the most promising treatment in terms of increases in fruit quality indices, promoting improvements in bulb caliber, numbers of garlic cloves and internal fruit content.ConclusionThe foliar application of HEVC benefits garlic production and fruit quality. The use of HEVC can be a sustainable alternative within the small-scale garlic phytotechnology package.
Highlights
Healthy and environmentally friendly plant-based food production is a priority for researchers and academicians
It is necessary to search for ecologically sustainable alternatives that increase both the amount of garlic production and quality of the fruit. Since these alternatives are not clearly reported in the literature at present, it is difficult to introduce liquid humus into a plant breeding package for garlic production. Taking these elements into consideration, this study aimed to evaluate the effects of humic liquid extract that is well characterized by solid-state 13C NMR and obtained from vermicompost of cattle manure on the production and quality of garlic crops via foliar application at different dilutions
While there are few studies reported in the literature showing the Humic substances (HS) effects on garlic production indicators, our results show that the stimulus exerted by humic extract from vermicompost (HEVC) foliar application on the external mass of garlic cloves was larger than that reported by Izquierdo and Gómez (2012) for the criollo-9 variety (1.35–1.41 g) as well as that reported by Grégrová et al (2013)
Summary
Healthy and environmentally friendly plant-based food production is a priority for researchers and academicians. One of the most common practices in organic agriculture is the use of composted materials. These materials generate liquid humic extracts that are mostly composed of humic substances (HS), proteins, carbohydrates, amino acids and different macro- and micronutrients. The foliar application of these humic extracts in plants of alimentary interest has been shown to considerably increase their development and fruit production. These biostimulating effects can be attributed to the presence of HS that contains humic acid (HA) and fulvic acid (FA) molecules
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: International Journal of Recycling of Organic Waste in Agriculture
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
