Physical, chemical and microbiological properties of different combination of soilless media and their effect on the vegetative component and nutrient content of hempedu bumi (Andrographis paniculata)

Soilless media (SM) is a common worldwide growing method for industrial horticultural production. It is a good growing medium that relies on the properties that benefit plant growth i.e. physical property, chemical properties and microbial activity. There are several SM with good characteristics such as empty fruit bunch compost (EFBC), coconut coir dust (CCD) and peat. EFBC is one of the organic residues of oil palm that provide beneficial microorganisms a good source of bacteria-rich, high nutrient content. The composting process reduces the pH of EFB by 6.86-7.20 to 4.5-6.0. CCD is recommended as a substitute for other media because of it is excellent for holding water and drainage and has high air porosity due to its large surface area. Microbiologically, CCD is the absence of weeds and pathogens and has anti-fungal properties that prevent soil-borne diseases. It also maintains greater oxygen levels and is reusable after sanitisation. Despite the ideal characteristics of CCD, there are some chemical limitations of this medium, including low pH and low potassium content. Peat has good aeration characteristics that are good for root growth. An experiment was conducted to evaluate the best medium combinations for growth performance and nutrient content of hempedu bumi (Andrographis paniculata). Three types of SM with five different combinationa were used as growing media for the plant; they included C1=CCD (1: -) as control; C2=EFBC + CCD (7:3); C3=EFBC + CCD (3:7); C4=CCD + Peat (7:3) and C5=CCD + Peat (3:7). Prior to the experiment, the physical, chemical and microbiological properties of the media were determined. The experiment was conducted in RCBD with five replications. In this experiment, the parameters of vegetative components (plant height, number of leaves and total leaf area), dry matter yield and partitioning [root, shoot dry weight and root to shoot ratio (R:S)] and the macronutrient nitrogen [(N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg)] of hempedu bumi were determined. C3 showed the highest vegetative component [plant height (39.5 cm), number of leaves (72.7 leaf plant-1), total leaf area (79.8 cm2) and shoot dry weight (3.03 g)] of hempedu bumi. The highest macronutrient content (1.17% N, 0.07% P, 2.45% K, 2.77% Ca and 0.58% Mg) was in the leaf tissues of hempedu bumi when grown in the C3 media. In conclusion, a combination of EFBC+CCD (3:7) is recommended as a suitable growing medium for hempedu bumi due to the greater vegetative components well as the higher macronutrient content it yielded in the leaf tissues of the plant

Influence of media, nitrogen, indigenous microorganism and water stress on bioactive compounds and biomass yield of Andrographis paniculata (Burm.f.) wall. ex nees

The current interest in reducing the herbal product importation by cultivating medicinal plants as Hempedu bumi, may have great impact on increasing the production of herbs in the local herbal industry. Growing plants under soilless media enable year round production of Hempedu bumi biomass. Although, some of soilless media (SM) components are cost effective and finding an alternative which is cheap and available locally in combination with indigenous microorganism might reduce applied rate of N chemical fertilizer. Besides the fact that organic and microbial amend d technique can enhance the growth of healthy herb, but also there is a need to increase the secondary metabolites in the pharmaceutical herb industry and this could be achieved by undergoing the plant through water stressed condition. A preliminary study was carried out to determine the physical, chemical and microbiological properties of the soilless media that has used in the study which where; (coconut coir dust (CCD), empty fruit bunch compost (EFBC) and peat. Results of these study showed that the properties of some SM such as (EFBC) were suitable for the plant growth and development of Andrographis paniculata. In the first glass house experiment, five different combinations of SM were used as growing media which includes; C1 as control = CCD only (1: -), C2 = EFBC + CCD (7:3), C3 = EFBC + CCD (3:7), C4 = CCD + Peat (7:3), C5 = CCD + Peat (3:7) in combination with four nitrogen rates (NR) (0, 30, 60, and 90 kg ha-1) along with and without indigenous microorganism (IMO) application. The growth performance, physiology, biomass production of root and shoot, macronutrient content of leaf tissue and microbial populations in rhizosphere were measured at 30 and 60 day after planting (DAP). At 30 and 60 DAP with application of IMO the soilless media that gave highest growth performance parameter was under C3 media with fertilization of 60 kg N ha-1 compared to control media C1 and other media C2, C4 and C5, plant height (25, 40.8 cm, respectively), number of leaves (121, 132 leaves plant-1) and total leaf area (122.8, 156.7 cm2), dry matter biomass (dry weight of shoot (3.1, 5.1 g), root (0.5, 1.1 g) and total dry biomass (3.6, 6.2 g)) physiological response (photosynthetic rate (9, 10 μmol m-2 s-2), stomatal conductance (410.4, 469.4 mmol m-2 s-1) and transpiration rate (3.9, 4.2 mmol H2O m-2 s-1)) and a decline in all parameter noticed at 90 kg N ha-1. With 90 kg N ha-1 the parameters declined under C3 media in which plant height (19, 37.5 cm, respectively), number of leaves (74.8, 105.8 leaves plant-1) and total leaf area (88, 93.2 cm2), dry matter biomass (dry weight of shoot (1.7, 3.6 g), root (0.3, 0.9 g) and total dry biomass (2, 4.5 g)) physiological response (photosynthetic rate (8.5, 9 μmol m-2 s-2), stomatal conductance (234.8, 363 mmol m-2 s-1) and transpiration rate (2.3, 2.6 mmol H2O m-2 s-1)). While without IMO application, the above mentioned parameters increased with increasing rate of N fertilizer to 90 kg N ha-1 at both planting periods. The combined application of IMO and N fertilizer created positive impact on most of the plant character and total biomass yield of Hempedu bumi grown under C3 media compared to C1 (control). Despite of the fact that EFBC is slow in releasing nutrient but additional of IMO could positively enhance nutrient release from the compost and resulting in highest biomass production of the plant. In second experiment, two soilless media (C1 and C3) from previous studies were chosen base on their effects on the performance of plant growth, physiological parameter and biomass production to further determine their effect on bioactive compound of Andrographis paniculata under WS condition. Media C1 as control and C3 supplied with or without fertilizer. Plant with fertilizer was supplied with 60 kg N ha-1, 15 kg P ha-1, 20 kg K ha-1 and no fertilizer at all was given to the plant without fertilizer. The plants was subjected into three WS levels which include; well watered (WW), moderate water stressed (MS) and severe stressed (SS). The plant received equal amounts of water twice a day for plant establishment and WS treatments were introduced 60 DAP for a period of 21 days. During WS treatments, the leaf relative water content (LRWC) and stomatal conductance (gs) were recorded at 5 days interval and the leaf increments were measured at 3 days interval. Data for biomass production and bioactive compound was determined after 21 days of WS treatment. Results showed that the highest plant biomass production (dry weight of shoot (11.5 and root 1.4 g) was observed from plants grown in C3 media under WW with application of fertilizer. Averaged overall WS treatment with fertilizer application the mean number of leaves and total leaf area (TLA) of plant grown under media C3 exhibited 67% and 31% higher than that of plants grown in C1. While without fertilizer application the number of leaves and total leaf area (TLA) of plant grown in C3 media was 69% and 33% higher than that of plants grown under control media C1. The biochemical compound of the plant was significantly affected by WS condition in which the highest content of andrographolide (0.06 μg mg-1 dry leaf ), proline (3.4 μmole g-1 FW), total phenolic (282.4 ( μg mg-1 extract) and flavonoid (381.8 μg mg-1 extract) content were observed in SS plants grown under media C3 .When averaged across different WS condition, the plant water status and chlorophyll content of plants grown under media C3 were adversely affected by stress condition when the result showed 16% and 57% higher compared to control either with or without fertilizer application, respectively In conclusion, results of this study suggest that the best media proportion was C3 media which consisted of 7: 3 of CCD: EFBC which gave best growth performance as well as biomass production of Andrographis paniculata. Application of IMO as an amendment to soilless media resulted in reducing the used amount of chemical N fertilizer in which the best biomass production was determined when the plant applied with 60 kg N ha-1 and a decline in the biomass was observed with increasing N rate to 90 kg N ha-1. The biochemical content and the secondary metabolite of the plant increased with subjecting the plant to water stress condition. Overall, improvement of SM amended with IMO and maximizing active compound of the herb can be implemented to increase herbal industry in Malaysia

Morphological Growth of Soybean (Glycine max L.) Treated with Soil Application of Humic Acid under Different Cultivation Periods

The demand of organic cultivation of plants is increasing and soil application of organic fertilizer reduces the hazardous usage of inorganic fertilizer and Humic acid is an organic compound derived from plant and animal residues and microbial cells with long-term physical, chemical, and biological processes. In addition, ultivation of soybean in Kurdistan region is not in a wide value therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the impact of soil application of different rates of Humic acid as an organic fertilizer on the growth characteristic of soybean cultivated and determining the best cultivation period for soybean growth. The experiment was conducted in randomized complete block design with two factor treatments and 3 replication, the first factor was one dose soil application of four different  Humic Acid rates (HAR) which were (0 (control), 2,4,6,8 g/L) and two cultivation period (CP) which were cultivation Period 1 (CP1) on 15 May 2022 and cultivation Period 2 (CP2) on 1st of  June 2022. Observations were made against the growth parameters of plant height number of branches, leaf area, root length, shoot fresh weight and shoot dry weight. The  effect of soil application of humic acid rates (HAR) was highly  significant on the plant height and root length and significant on the No. of branches, shoot fresh and dry weight. While, cultivation period insignificantly affected the growth parameter except for leaf area.  was significant. The maximum plant height, number of branches, leaf area, root length, shoot fresh and dry weight were observed with soil application of 8 g/L of humic acid  which were (82.83 (cm), 23.33, 8815 (mm2), 68.83 (cm), 503.33 (g) and 190.00 (g) respectively. The highest plant height (72 cm), number of branches (18.87), leaf area (7714 mm2), root length (57.13 g), shoot fresh (263.67 g) and dry weight  (102.93 g) were observed when the planted cultivated in 1st   period (CP1) compared to CP2