Enhanced growth and yield of eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) applied with seaweed extract
2023
Jamili, K.M. | Catubis, K.M.L. | Pascual, P.R.L. | Cabillo, R.A.
Eggplant is one of the high-value vegetable crops in the country that has been studied for growth and yield improvement due to its nutritional and medicinal benefits to the consumer. Thus, a study was conducted utilizing the Sargassum polycystum seaweed extract as foliar fertilizer for eggplants to assess its growth and yield responses. The study was arranged in a randomized complete block design. Treatments were control (no foliar application of seaweed extract), recommended commercial fertilizer (10 g of 14-14-14), 0.5% v/v, 1.0% v/v, and 1.5% v/v seaweed extract in water. Results show improvement in eggplant growth and yield parameters applied with seaweed extract (P < 0.05). Application of 1.0% v/v seaweed extract resulted in the highest plant height (44.00 ± 7.28 cm) and root length (21.61 ± 4.83 cm) for eggplant, comparable to all plants applied with commercial fertilizer (39.06 ± 10.32 cm, 20.28 ± 3.64 cm), 0.5% v/v (42.33 ± 11.11 cm, 20.78 ± 3.84 cm) and 1.5% v/v (42.06 ± 10.56 cm, 20.11 ± 4.50 cm) of seaweed extract, respectively. A similar result was observed for leaf number and leaf width. Moreover, 1.0% v/v of seaweed extract application got the highest number of fruits per plant (3.00 ± 0.49), fruit length (16.00 ± 0.77 cm), fruit circumference (10.92 ± 0.67 cm), and fruit weight (97.22 ± 37.27 g). Hence, the foliar application of 1.0% v/v seaweed extract is recommended for more profitable and sustainable eggplant production.
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