APPLICATION OF NATURAL GROWTH PROMOTERS TO IMPROVE THE GROWTH AND FLOWERING OF GOMPHRENA GLOBOSA L. PLANT

Abstract

Our study aimed to test the promoting effect of chitosan at rates100, 300 and 500 mg l-1 and humic acid at rates 100, 500 and 700 mg l-1 as a foliar application on Gomphrena globosa L. plus control plants sprayed with distilled water during 2022 and 2023 seasons. The obtained results cleared that the plants that received foliar application of chitosan at 300 mg l-1 showed the highest plant height value, Number of leaves, number of branches per, root length, shoot and root (fresh and dry weights). Moreover, the application of humic acid at a rate of 700 mg l-1 raised all the flowering traits including number of inflorescence, inflorescence diameter, inflorescence length, and inflorescences (fresh and dry weights). Furthermore, it was found that the most of chemical compositions including photosynthetic pigments, total sugars, flavonoids content in leaves, and betalain in inflorescences were increased in plants treated with chitosan 300 mg l-1 except total phenols content in leaves which showed the highest values in plants sprayed with humic acid at 700 mg l-1.

Keywords

• gomphrena globosa
• humic acid
• chitosan
• vegetative growth
• flowering parameters
• chemical compositions