Evaluation of quality and growth of roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa L.) as affected by bio-fertilizers

Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa L.) plant is a valuable medicinal crop in arid and semi-arid regions. The use of microbes as bio-fertilizers in enhancing crop production is more favorable than chemical fertilizers due to food safety. A pot experiment was conducted to explore the effect of Azotobacter c...

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Published inJournal of plant nutrition Vol. 43; no. 7; pp. 1025 - 1035
Main Authors Al-Sayed, Hassan M., Hegab, Sabry A., Youssef, Mohamed A., Khalafalla, Mostafa Y., Almaroai, Yaser A., Ding, Zheli, Eissa, Mamdouh A.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Philadelphia Taylor & Francis 20.04.2020
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Subjects
Agricultural production
Agrochemicals
Anthocyanins
Arid regions
Arid zones
Azospirillum
Azotobacter
Chlorophyll
Clay loam
Clay soils
Crop production
Crop yield
Fertilization
Fertilizers
Food safety
Hibiscus sabdariffa
Inoculation
Loam soils
Medicinal plants
Nitrogen
Nutrients
Organic chemistry
Roselle
Sandy soils
Seeds
Semi arid areas
Semiarid lands
Sepals
Soil fertility
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Summary:Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa L.) plant is a valuable medicinal crop in arid and semi-arid regions. The use of microbes as bio-fertilizers in enhancing crop production is more favorable than chemical fertilizers due to food safety. A pot experiment was conducted to explore the effect of Azotobacter chroococcum and Azospirillum brasiliense as a bio-fertilizer on the growth, yield, and quietly of roselle plants. Roselle seeds were mixed with the tested bio-fertilizer and cultivated on plastic pots filled with a sandy clay loam soil. The bio-fertilization significantly (p < 0.05) increased the growth, nutrients uptake, yield, and quality of roselle plants compared to the untreated plants. The inoculation of roselle plants with the bio-fertilizer increased the total chlorophyll, carotenoid, total anthocyanin (TAC), and total flavonel (TF) by 16.45, 26.10, 8.44, and 14.27%, respectively, above the control. The bio-fertilization increased the soil available nitrogen by 14.33% above the control, and increased the uptake of N, P, and K by 18.8, 17.81, and 12.75%. The bio-fertilization not only increased the quality of roselle plants but also increased the fresh and dry weights of sepals yield by 5.89 and 3.55%, respectively.
ISSN:0190-4167
1532-4087
DOI:10.1080/01904167.2020.1711938