Plant, Soil and Environment (Nov 2018)

The effects of ploy (γ-glutamic acid) on spinach productivity and nitrogen use efficiency in North-West China

  • Lin CHEN,
  • Liangjun FEI,
  • Zilu WANG,
  • Mohamed Khaled SALAHOU,
  • Le LIU,
  • Yun ZHONG,
  • Zhiguang DAI

DOI
https://doi.org/10.17221/371/2018-PSE
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 64, no. 11
pp. 517 – 522

Abstract

Read online

Recently, with the problem of low utilization rate of nitrogen fertilizers in farmland, agriculture practices have shifted towards the development of environmentally friendly nitrogen fertilizers. Ploy (γ-glutamic acid) is a new plant growth regulator with characteristics of water and fertilizer conservation. In this study, pot experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of ploy (γ-PGA) on the yield, nitrogen use efficiency and soil aggregate of spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.). The results indicated that γ-PGA (0.1%) increased plant growth (as measured by fresh and dry plant weight). However, increasing γ-PGA significantly decreased spinach quality parameters. The nitrogen utilization and use efficiency were increased with increasing γ-PGA. Ploy was stronger in water coagulation which effectively increased soil porosity and improved soil structure. The results suggest that 0.1% of γ-PGA has positive effects on spinach growth.

Keywords