Effects of humic acids derived from cattle, food and paper-waste vermicomposts on growth of greenhouse plants
Authors: Arancon N.Q.1; Lee S.1; Edwards C.A.1; Atiyeh R.1
Source: Pedobiologia, Volume 47, Numbers 5-6, January 2004 , pp. 741-744(4)
Publisher: Urban & Fischer
Key:
- Free Content
- New Content
- Subscribed Content
- Free Trial Content
Abstract:
Humic acids were extracted from cattle, food and paper-waste vermicomposts using an alkali/acid fractionation procedure which produced 1 g dry wt humates from 400 g vermicompost. They were applied to a soilless growth medium, Metro-Mix 360 (MM360), at rates of 0, 250 or 500 mg humates kg1 dry wt of container medium, to young marigold, pepper, and strawberry plants grown in pots in the greenhouse. A range of 0, 20, 100, 150, 200, 250, 500, 1000, 2000, 4000 mg of humates kg1 of container medium was used for tomatoes. Effects of the humic acids on the plant heights, leaf areas, shoot dry weights, root dry weights of peppers, tomatoes and marigolds and numbers of fruits of strawberries were assessed. Substitution of humates ranging from 2501000 mg kg1 MM360 increased root growth of marigolds and peppers, and increased root growth and numbers of fruits of strawberries significantly (P
0.05). Leaf areas, plant heights and above-ground dry matter weights increased considerably in plants grown in pots containing humic acids but they were not significantly different from those grown in MM360 only (P
0.05).
Document Type: Research article
DOI: 10.1078/0031-4056-00253
Affiliations: 1: The Soil Ecology Laboratory, The Ohio State University, 1735 Neil Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
Key:
- Free Content
- New Content
- Subscribed Content
- Free Trial Content

Click here for Page Help