OPTIMIZATION OF VERMICOMPOST AND WORM-BED LEACHATE FOR THE ORGANIC CULTIVATION OF RADISH |
| |
| Authors: | Federico Antonio Gutiérrez-Miceli María Angela Oliva Llaven Paula Mendoza Nazar Benigno Ruíz Sesma José David Álvarez-Solís Luc Dendooven |
| |
| Institution: | 1. Instituto Tecnológico de Tuxtla Gutiérrez , Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Mexico;2. Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia , Universidad Autónoma de Chiapas , Chiapas, Mexico;3. Departamento de Agroecología , El Colegio de la Frontera Sur , San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Mexico;4. Laboratory of Soil Ecology, Department of Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Cinvestav , Instituto Politécnico Nacional , Mexico City, Mexico |
| |
| Abstract: | Vermicompost and worm-bed leachate (WBL) are two products obtained from vermicomposting. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of different combinations of vermicompost and WBL on cultivating radish (Raphanus sativus L.). A multilevel factorial design with 25 treatments was used to investigate the effect of vermicompost at 0, 10, 20, 30, or 40% and WBL at 0, 10, 20, 30, or 40% on germination and growth parameters. A maximum seed germination of 54%, number of leaves (2.8), and plant height (8.6 cm) were obtained with 10% vermicompost and 10% WBL. A maximum shoot (7.0 g) and root (7.3 g) dry weight was obtained with 10% vermicompost and 15% WBL. Vermicompost and worm-bed leachate have an inhibitory effect at higher concentrations on seed germination and plant growth. These inhibitory effects might be due to increased salt concentrations, pH or auxin-like effects of humic and fulvic acids. |
| |
| Keywords: | fulvic acid germination humic acid plant nutrition phytotoxicity |
|
|
