Response of Narcissus Constantinople 'Double Roman' Plants of Some Natural and Chemical Fertilizers

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Agriculture Research Center, Horticultural Research Institute, Botanical Gardens Department, Antoniades Garden, Alexandria, Egypt

Abstract

Ornamental plants are divided into several plant groups, such as flowering bulbs, cut flowers, aquatic and semi-aquatic plants etc. All of them are indispensable in the design and landscaping of botanical gardens. Also, each of them has an aesthetic role as well as a major environmental role.  For example, freshwater submerged aquatic macrophytes have multiple uses since time immemorial. Their utilization as an amendment to soil properties and its fertility is a well-known tradition especially in both agriculture and horticulture, as a means of safe disposal and is a way to manage the invasive aquatic plant wastes resulting from the phenomenon of ' Eutrophication'. Meanwhile, their survival is a means of preserving the biological aquatic ecosystem. Also, macrophytes have the capability of chelating the highest amount of each macro, micronutrients and adsorb the organic ingredients and then these plants are called 'phytochelatins'.
             Thus, this experiment aimed to make a comparison between the chelated chemical fertilizer of "Nutricomplex 20-20-20" as spraying and organic compost from a mix of two plants from the type of submerged freshwater aquatic macrophytes, which are Potamogeton pectinatus L. 'Sago pondweed' and Ceratophyllum demersum L. "Hornwort", and employ their environmental impact to use them as eco-friendly organic fertilizers and/or 'biochelator' plants. So, using their extracts either foliar spray fertilizers or drenching soil. All of these impacts on the criteria of growth bundle, flowering, marketability of bulbs and chemical constituents of Narcissus tazetta L. var. Constantinople "Double Roman" plants.
             This study was carried out at El-Harrery village, Montaza - Alexandria- Egypt during two consecutive cropping seasons, from fall 2014 to spring 2015and the same at the second till spring 2016. The dosages of chelate fertilizer "Nutricomplex 20-20-20" were foliar spray (NFS) at the rate of 1g/l at 3 times at 3phases. Preparing the organic compost or "soil amendments" was hand-made compost, not an industrial product. The additions were two dosages (250g Com. /pot single) and/or (100g Com. /pot with other additions). But the wateral extracts were added with two applications either as a Soil Drench (MSD) or Foliar Spray fertilizer (MFS) in the three aforementioned stages for chemical fertilizer. The transactions were Control (without fertilization), (NFS), (100g Com.+MFS+MSD), (MFS+MSD), (NFS+MSD), (100g Com. + NFS), (100g Com. + MFS) and (250g Com.) only. In any case, most of the results indicated that the transactions of 100g Com.+MFS+MSD and/or 100g Com.+ MFS achieved the highest significant criterion in the bundle's growth, flowering characteristics, marketability of bulbs and chemical constituents, without a match.

Keywords