Abstract:
Biostimulants derived from different seaweeds have been found to boost plant health, increase photosynthetic activity, and improve plant resistance. This study was aimed to evaluate the effect of different application rates of Wokozim®, a granular bio stimulant from seaweed (Ascophyllum nodosum), on growth and yield of chili (Capsicum annuum) cultivation under protected house conditions. Four treatments as T1 (Control-0 g/plant), T2 (5 g/plant), T3 (10 g/plant), T4 (15 g/plant), were tested using a completely randomized design with five replicates. Albert solution was added to each plant at the rate of 0.1 g, three times per week, increasing weekly by 0.1 g until reaching 1 g/plant. Plant height and number of leaves/plant were measured at 50% flowering and 1st harvesting stages. Number of pods and weight of pods/plant and length of pod were recorded at harvesting. ANOVA was adapted for the analysis of data and means were compared by using Dunnett’s Test at a 5% probability level. The results revealed that, the significantly (p < 0.05) higher values for plant height at 50% flowering stage (69.95 ± 1.25 cm, 71.19 ± 1.58 cm and 71.09 ± 1.54 cm) were obtained by T2, T3 and T4 respectively, compared to the control (T1). Further, significantly (p < 0.05) higher values for plant height at 1st harvesting stage (101.16 ± 3.25 cm and 100.79 ± 3.12 cm) were resulted by T3 and T4 respectively, compared to the control. The significantly (p < 0.05) highest values for number of leaves/plant at 50% flowering stage (102 ± 3.20) and at 1st harvesting stage (268 ± 4.28), number of pods/plant (32 ± 0.80), weight of pods/plant (164.31 ± 3.02 g) and length of pod (6.98 ± 0.30 cm) were obtained by T4 compared to the control. Therefore, according to the results, T4 (15 g/plant) can be recommended as the best application rate of Wokozim® for better growth and yield performances of chili (Capsicum annuum) cultivation under protected house conditions.
