Effect of a Silicate Fertilizer Supplemented to a Medium on the Growth and Development of Potted Plants

Abstract

This experiment was carried out to examine the effect of a silicate fertilizer on the growth and development of potted plants. Cutting of Kalanchoe blossfeldiana ‘Kaluna’ and ‘Taos’, and Dianthus caryophyllus L. ‘Kazan’ and ‘Tula’ were grown in 50 and 128-cell plug trays, respectively. Rooted cuttings transplanted to the mixture of a commercial medium and perlite (5:1, v/v) supplemented with a silicate fertilizer at 0, 40, 80, 120 or 160 g•L-1 medium was evaluated. A silicate fertilizer supplementation at 40 g•L-1 medium resulted in the greatest plant height, leaf thickness, and root fresh and dry weights in both kalanchoe and carnation. However, plant height was suppressed in the treatment of a silicate fertilizer supplementation at higher concentrations in both kalanchoe and carnation. According to the scanning electron microscope images of transversal sections of tissues of roots and leaves in kalanchoe and carnation, the treatment of a silicate fertilizer supplementation at 40 g•L-1 medium resulted in plants with more compact tissue than the control.