Abstract
Understanding the effects of different combinations of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) fertilizers and the effects of GA3 (gibberellic acid) foliar spray on the fiber quality and yield of ramie are important for maximizing the economic value of these plants. Three pot experiments were conducted using low NPK (140:70:140 kg/ha), normal NPK (280:140:280 kg/ha), and low NPK + GA3 (10 mg/L) treatments. In each experiment, following fertilizers were applied: no fertilizer (control), N, P, K, NP, NK, PK, and NPK. Ramie was harvested three times from each plant; ramie grown without fertilizers had significantly lower biomass and yield than plants grown with fertilizers. At both normal and low fertilization rates, application of NPK resulted in greater growth and yield than application of N, P, K, NP, NK, or PK. Unfertilized plants produced the thinnest fibres (22-24 µm), with lowest elongation rate (3.0–3.1%) and breaking strength (22.7–23.3 cN). Fibre yield and fibre quality were improved by application of GA3 + fertilizers. Maximum fibre yield was obtained at low NPK + GA3 treatment, resulting in 65–81% more yield than low NPK alone. GA3 with low NPK treatment significantly improved fibre diameter, fibre elongation, and breaking strength compared to both NPK alone and control treatment.
Highlights
An important aspect of agriculture is the cultivation of plants for food, fiber, biofuel, medicine and other products used to sustain and enhance human life
As the bast fibre from ramie is extracted from the outer part of the stem, the fibre yield is dependent on the biomass, length, diameter, and thickness of the stem
The height of plants fertilized with NPK varied significantly between treatment groups:plant height was 29–72% greater than controls for the low NPK group, 31–83% greater than controls for the normal NPK group, and 54–106% greater than controls for the low NPK + GA3group
Summary
An important aspect of agriculture is the cultivation of plants for food, fiber, biofuel, medicine and other products used to sustain and enhance human life. Gibberellins exist in various forms and the bioactive forms are GA1, GA3, GA4, and GA7 One of these forms, gibberellic acid (GA3), promotes growth, especially fibre production and elongation, in hemp, jute, kenaf, cotton, and ramie. The greatest concentrations of GA3 are found in those tissues that are elongating the most rapidly, such as stems, petioles, and, in some crops, flower inflorescences[14, 15] The objective of this project was to evaluate several different combinations of low and normal rates of N, P, and K fertilization and the combined effect of a plant growth regulator and a low rate of fertilization on the subsequent growth, yield and fibre quality of ramie
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