Agricultural Engineering

The Effect of Humic Acid and Biochar on the Quantitative, Qualitative, Biochemical and Nutritional Characteristics of Anthurium Plants under Hydroponic Cultivation System

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Esmaeil Khaleghi 1
Mehrangiz Chehrazi 1
Hojjat Shirazi 2

1 Associate Professor, Department of Horticultural Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran

2 Former Master's Student, Department of Horticultural Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran

https://doi.org/10.22055/agen.2024.46319.1714
Abstract
Introduction: Anthurium (Anthurium scherzerianum schott) is one of the most important ornamental plants with beautiful leaves and flowers. The quantitative and qualitative characteristics of this flower can be affected by many factors, including the cultivation and feeding system. Biochar is a carbon-rich solid material that is produced during the process of pyrolysis (decomposition of organic materials by heat in the absence of oxygen or a small amount of oxygen). It includes elements such as (Si, P, S, N, H, O, K, alkali cations and heavy metals) with different proportions. In addition, humic acid is used as a biological polymer in the agricultural field to increase the efficiency of cultivation of various plant products, improve the efficiency of fertilizer consumption, the possibility of using it in soilless and greenhouse cultivation environments and increasing the efficiency of water consumption.

Materials and Methods: This study was conducted to investigate the effect of biochar and humic acid on the quantitative, qualitative and nutritional characteristics of anthurium flowers as a factorial experiment based on randomized complete block design in three replications in the greenhouse of the Faculty of Agriculture of Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz during 2017-2018. In order to perform this experiment, first, Anthurium seedlings were prepared from the Anthurium flower production greenhouse located in Pakdasht Varamin and transferred to the greenhouse of Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz. Then they were cultivated in 15 liter pots containing cocopeat and perlite in a ratio of 1:1. The treatments included biochar at 3 levels (0%, 5%, and 10% by weight), which was provided to the substrate at the same time as cultivation, and humic acid at 3 concentrations of 0, 500, and 1000 mg/liter. The end of experiment, indicators such as fresh and dry weight of roots, root surface, chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b and carotenoids, total soluble carbohydrates, nitrogen and potassium were measured.

Results and Discussion: The results showed that the use of biochar and humic acid significantly increased the morphological characteristics such as fresh and dry weight of roots, number of leaves, root surface and leaf surface. The highest fresh weight (50.62 grams) and dry weight (5.12 grams) of the root was obtained by using 10% biochar along with 1000 mg/liter of humic acid. There was a significant difference between plants treated with 1000 mg/liter of humic acid and 500 mg/liter of humic acid in all different levels of biochar on leaf number. The highest number of leaves (82.66) in the highest concentration of humic acid and biochar were obtained. The highest number of flowers was obtained at the highest level of humic acid and biochar. Also, biochemical properties such as chlorophyll and carotenoid and nutritional properties such as nitrogen and potassium increased significantly under the influence of treatments. The increase in growth parameters can be due to the effect of these two compounds in increasing the photosynthetic pigments, improving the absorption of water and nutrients, including nitrogen and potassium. Biochar, as a compound resulting from the anaerobic pyrolysis of different biomasses, changes the physical and chemical characteristics of the cultivation environment and increases the capacity to hold water and nutrients, increase total porosity and ventilation porosity, living and non-living biological compounds. On the other hand, humic acid, as a biopolymer, has a high ability to stimulate chemical reactions in the plant environment, especially in the rhizosphere of the plant. It is worth mentioning that the behavior of humic acid as a biopolymer in the plant environment can also affect the secondary metabolites of the plant, which has been reported in various studies for plants.

Conclusion: In general, Mechanisms such as increasing root activity due to increasing cationic capacity, increasing water retention capacity in the culture medium, increasing biological activities in the culture medium during the application of biochar are important and key factors that they can affect the absorption of different nutrients and the biochemical reactions of the rhizosphere environment of the plant. Therefore, the results showed that the consumption of biochar and humic acid significantly increased in vegetative characteristics, reproductive characteristics, photosynthetic pigments and nutritional elements such as nitrogen and potassium. The use of 10% biochar and 1000 mg/liter of humic acid was the most effective treatment in improving the mentioned factors.

Keywords

Carbohydrate
Nitrogen
Potassium and Spath
Subjects
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Agricultural Engineering
Volume 47, Issue 3
Autumn 2024
Pages 323-336

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