Effect of extracted phytohormones from coconut water on the growth of tissue cultured crops and coconut seedlings

Coconut water contains valuable resources such as dissolved nutrients and phytohormones, which are extractable for value-added product formulation. The development of sustainable resource recovery with the use of agricultural residues introduced novel methods of extracting these biochemicals from the coconut water. To evaluate the viability of coconut shell activated carbon in the extraction of phytohormones from coconut water, High Performance Liquid Chromatography and Inductively Coupled Plasma were used to quantify and confirm the presence of phytohormones and dissolved nutrient in the extracted formulation. Moreover, the potential of formulated phytohormone mix (FP) to enhance growth and development of tissue-cultured crops and hybrid coconut seedlings were evaluated. A comparison was also made between FP and commercial phytohormone in combination with Mykovam and conventional fertilizers. Results from the analysis confirmed the presence of Auxins (Indole-3-acetic acid and Indole-3-butyric acid), Cytokinins (6-Benzylaminopurine, Kinetin, and Zeatin), Gibberellic Acid, and Abscisic acid, as well as macro- (K, Ca, and Mg) and micronutrients (B, Fe, Zn, Co, Cu, and Mn) in the extracted phytohormone formulation. The application of FP to tissue cultured crops increased root growth significantly with small applications of only 5 ml/L potentially due to the abundance of root growth promoting phytohormones in the formulation. Subsequently, in contrast with commercial phytohormones, the application of 30 ml/L of FP also produced significant shoot growth in coconut seedlings due to its gibberellic acid component, which the former lacks. The supplementation of fertilizers to FP was able to increase shoot growth due to the improved fungal-root association and nutrient dynamics in the soil media, particularly in the combined application of Mykovam biofertilizers and conventional fertilizers with FP. Root growth was found to be unaffected by Mykovam and conventional fertilizer additions, despite the increase in shoot lengths. However, it can still be increased with the increased application of FP to 55 ml/L Lastly, the rate of conventional fertilizer application can be reduced to 50% of the recommended rate if applied in combination with 30 ml/L of FP and Mykovam without resulting in significant reduction in coconut seedling shoot and root growth.