- Title
- The effect of bioslurry effluent on growth and development of swiss chard (beta vulgaris l.)
- Creator
- Dumani, Azile
- Subject
- Sewage sludge -- Seedlings
- Subject
- Swiss chard -- Seedlings
- Date Issued
- 2020
- Date
- 2020
- Type
- Thesis
- Type
- Masters
- Type
- MSc
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10948/48268
- Identifier
- vital:40837
- Description
- Studies were conducted at Döhne Agricultural Development Institute (DADI) (32°31’ 34.077” S; 27°27’ 37.473” E) in Stutterheim, Eastern Cape, South Africa, 2017 and 2018. The objectives of this study were (i) to evaluate the effect of bioslurry effluent on seedling growth of Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris L.), (ii) to study the effect of bioslurry effluent on growth, development and the nutrient content of Swiss chard and (iii) to evaluate the residual effect of bioslurry on biological yield and nutrient content of Swiss chard. Experiment 1 was conducted in a glasshouse using two cultivars (Fordhook giant and Star 1801) seeds planted in 200 cavity trays using Hygromix. The treatments were: control (no fertiliser), 50%Bioslurry, 100%Bioslurry, 200%Bioslurry and the recommended rate of 2:3:4 (30) NPK fertilizer. The experiment was arranged in a randomized complete block design replicated three times. At four weeks after germination, ten seedlings per treatment were destructively sampled randomly to determine shoot height and root length, seedling mass, fresh shoot and fresh root mass, dry mass and nutrient content of leaves. The results showed that fertilization with 100%Bioslurry produced significantly taller seedlings (16.33cm) and shoot height (8.72cm), while the shortest seedlings were obtained from the recommended inorganic fertilizer. Fertilization with 200%Bioslurry and the control treatment produced significantly higher biological yield. compared to other treatments. The interaction between fertilizer treatments, cultivar and season indicated that summer season performed better compared to winter in seedling growth and development, and Fordhook giant fertilized with 100% and 200%Bioslurry was superior compared to Star 1801. Fertilization with 50%Bioslurry resulted in seedlings with higher sodium, while the seedlings grown in the control treatment showed higher copper content. The highest manganese was obtained from the seedlings fertilized with the inorganic fertilizer. In Experiment 2, 10 plots of 4.5m² were established in a greenhouse and were replicated three times, using the same cultivars and fertilizer treatments as in Experiment 1. One seedling was planted per hill at a spacing of 0.25m between plants and 0.5 m between rows and this accommodated 28plants per plot. At 20-day intervals, five plants were randomly selected for data collection until 60 days after transplanting. The cultivar significantly affected growth and biological yield parameters, with Fordhook giant performing better in all the three sampling intervals compared to Star 1801 during summer growing season. Fertilizer application positively affected growth and biological yield parameters and plants treated with 200%Bioslurry and the recommended rate of inorganic fertiliser produced the best results. Experiment 3 was carried out in the same manner as experiment two, except that no fertilizer was applied and the seedlings were planted in corresponding treatment to evaluate the residual effect of bioslurry and inorganic fertilizer. The inorganic fertilizer had the highest residual effect compared to bioslurry. Although not necessarily performing significantly better in terms of the residual effects, the bioslurry showed a good potential as an alternative fertilizer source.
- Format
- Xv, 111 leaves
- Format
- Publisher
- Nelson Mandela University
- Publisher
- Faculty of Science
- Language
- English
- Rights
- Nelson Mandela University
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Collections
NMU School of Environmental Sciences
| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | SOURCE1 | Dumani, A 2179364070 Dissertation April 2020.pdf | 1 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |