Volume 16, Issue 1 (Journal of Soil and Plant Interactions 2025)
2025, 16(1): 19-36 |
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Department of Horticultural Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Zanjan, Zanjan, Iran
Abstract: (1064 Views)
Background and Objective: Zinnia flowers are widely used as ornamental plants due to their long flowering period and suitability for cut flower arrangements and open spaces. This study investigated the effect of algae and fungi treatments on the vegetative and flowering traits of Zinnia flowers in the greenhouse of the Faculty of Agriculture at Zanjan University, using a completely randomized design with three replications.
Methods: Two-week-old Zinnia seedlings were obtained from the Zanjan Municipality Green Space Center and placed in uniform potting substrates in the greenhouse, consisting of equal parts of garden soil with a sandy clay texture, cocopeat, and perlite. At this stage, the fungal treatments (Glomus mosseae, Gnomoniopsis castaneae, and a combination of both fungi) were mixed with the soil at a rate of 15 grams per pot. After the plants reached the 4 to 6 leaf stage and full establishment and health of the seedlings were ensured in greenhouse conditions, the algae treatment (Spirulina algae, brown algae, and a combination of both algae at a 2:1 ratio) was applied at a rate of 2% as a foliar spray. After the growth period and the onset of flowering, traits such as stem length, root development depth, leaf length, number of leaves, flower diameter, fresh and dry leaf weights, root volume, anthocyanin content, chlorophyll a, b, and total chlorophyll were measured.
Results: The algae treatment had a significant effect on all traits except stem length, while the fungal treatment significantly affected all traits except stem length, root volume, and anthocyanin content. Furthermore, the mean comparison results showed that the highest flower diameter, and fresh and dry leaf weights in the treatment combining green and brown algae were 85.82 mm, 3.35 g, and 1 g, respectively, whereas the lowest flower diameter, fresh and dry leaf weights were found in the control with means of 61.98 mm, 1.76 g, and 0.53 g. This resulted in an increase of 33.67% in flower diameter, 34.90% in fresh leaf weight, and 68.88% in dry leaf weight. The highest anthocyanin and total chlorophyll content were observed in the combined effect treatment of both fungi, with means of 0.273 mol/g and 5.6 mg/g FW, while the lowest values in the control were 0.179 mol/g and 2.51 mg/g FW.
Conclusion: The results showed that Zinnia flower can achieve better growth and quality performance in the presence of a mixture of both algae or the fungus G. castaneae.
Methods: Two-week-old Zinnia seedlings were obtained from the Zanjan Municipality Green Space Center and placed in uniform potting substrates in the greenhouse, consisting of equal parts of garden soil with a sandy clay texture, cocopeat, and perlite. At this stage, the fungal treatments (Glomus mosseae, Gnomoniopsis castaneae, and a combination of both fungi) were mixed with the soil at a rate of 15 grams per pot. After the plants reached the 4 to 6 leaf stage and full establishment and health of the seedlings were ensured in greenhouse conditions, the algae treatment (Spirulina algae, brown algae, and a combination of both algae at a 2:1 ratio) was applied at a rate of 2% as a foliar spray. After the growth period and the onset of flowering, traits such as stem length, root development depth, leaf length, number of leaves, flower diameter, fresh and dry leaf weights, root volume, anthocyanin content, chlorophyll a, b, and total chlorophyll were measured.
Results: The algae treatment had a significant effect on all traits except stem length, while the fungal treatment significantly affected all traits except stem length, root volume, and anthocyanin content. Furthermore, the mean comparison results showed that the highest flower diameter, and fresh and dry leaf weights in the treatment combining green and brown algae were 85.82 mm, 3.35 g, and 1 g, respectively, whereas the lowest flower diameter, fresh and dry leaf weights were found in the control with means of 61.98 mm, 1.76 g, and 0.53 g. This resulted in an increase of 33.67% in flower diameter, 34.90% in fresh leaf weight, and 68.88% in dry leaf weight. The highest anthocyanin and total chlorophyll content were observed in the combined effect treatment of both fungi, with means of 0.273 mol/g and 5.6 mg/g FW, while the lowest values in the control were 0.179 mol/g and 2.51 mg/g FW.
Conclusion: The results showed that Zinnia flower can achieve better growth and quality performance in the presence of a mixture of both algae or the fungus G. castaneae.
Type of Study: Applicable |
Subject:
Soil (growth medium) and plant relations in greenhouse culture
Received: 2024/12/14 | Accepted: 2025/03/3 | Published: 2024/03/29
Received: 2024/12/14 | Accepted: 2025/03/3 | Published: 2024/03/29
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Journal of Soil and Plant Interactions by http://jspi.iut.ac.ir is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License which allows users to read, copy, distribute and make derivative works for non-commercial purposes from the material, as long as the author of the original work is cited properly.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License which allows users to read, copy, distribute and make derivative works for non-commercial purposes from the material, as long as the author of the original work is cited properly.
