Organic Substrates Differentially Affect Growth and Macronutrient Concentrations of Lulo (Solanum quitoense Lam.) Seedlings

We tested the effect of varying percentages (v/v) of peatmoss and compost (60/40, T1; 40/60, T2; and 20/80, T3) on growth and macronutrient concentration of lulo (Solanum quitoense Lam.) seedlings in a completely randomized experiment with ten replicates under greenhouse conditions. Lulo seedlings d...

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Published inHorticulturae Vol. 8; no. 12; p. 1200
Main Authors Trejo-Téllez, Libia Iris, Gómez-Merino, Fernando Carlos, García-Albarado, J. Cruz, Peralta-Sánchez, María Guadalupe
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Basel MDPI AG 01.12.2022
Subjects
Analysis
Biomass
Compost
Composting
Composts
Drinking water
Environmental aspects
Fruits
Growth
Growth (Plants)
Horticulture
Lasiocarpa
Leaves
naranjilla
Nutrient concentrations
Nutrient status
Nutrients
Plant growth
plant nutrition
Plant tissues
Plants
Plants (botany)
Seedlings
Seeds
Shoots
Software
Solanaceae
Solanum
Solanum quitoense
Substrates
Variance analysis
South America
United States > US
Mexico
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Summary:We tested the effect of varying percentages (v/v) of peatmoss and compost (60/40, T1; 40/60, T2; and 20/80, T3) on growth and macronutrient concentration of lulo (Solanum quitoense Lam.) seedlings in a completely randomized experiment with ten replicates under greenhouse conditions. Lulo seedlings displayed higher plant height and stem diameter when grown in T1 and T2, as compared to T3. In root tissues, N concentration was higher in plants grown in T1, and the same trend was observed in leaves, though differences were not significant in the latter. All other nutrient concentrations analyzed in root tissues were higher in plants under T3. These results are directly related to a higher biomass production in roots as compared to shoots (52.5% higher) found in T3. In leaf tissues, however, significant increases in plants exposed to T3 were only evident for Ca and S concentrations (i.e., 10.6 and 2.6 g kg−1 DBW). Considering dry biomass weight (DBW), lulo plants exhibited a significant and positive correlation between shoot (ShDBW) and total dry biomass (TDBW), whereas low and negative correlations were observed between root DBW and ShDBW. Therefore, a peatmoss/compost ratio of 0.66 (40/60, T2) results in a better plant growth performance, ensuring a good plant nutrient status for lulo seedlings.
ISSN:2311-7524
2311-7524
DOI:10.3390/horticulturae8121200