Research Journal of Agriculture and Biological Sciences, 4(6): 964-972, 2008 © 2008, INSInet Publication
Alleviation of Poor Growth Eggplant under Newly Reclaimed Land by Foliar Application of Biostimulators and Micronutrients 1
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Riad, G.S, 1 A.A. Ghoname, 2M.S. Sadak and 3A.M.Hegazi
Vegetable Research Department, National Research Center, Dokki, Cairo, Egypt. 2 Botany Department, National Research Center, Dokki, Cairo, Egypt. 3 Botany Department, Faculty of Agric., Ain Shams Univ. Cairo, Egypt.
Abstract: To investigate the response of eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) grown under newly reclaimed land to foliar application of ascorbic acid (200 and 400 mg/L), salicylic acid (100 and 200 mg/L), molybdenum (5 mg/L) and boron (200 mg/L), the present study was conducted at the Experimental Station of the National Research Centre, Noubaria, Behaira Governorate, Egypt, during 2007 and 2008 seasons. The results indicated that, different treatments induced increments regarding yield and yield components (no of fruits, average fruit weight (g), early yield (g/plant) and total yield (g/plant) compared to controls. Also, fruit characteristics expressed as fruit length, (cm), fruit diameter (cm), fruit fresh and dry weight (g) were increased significantly in response to different applied treatment compared with untreated plants. In addition, the result showed an increase in carbohydrate, total phenols, acidity, anthocyanin, tannin, ascorbic acid and minerals as N, K, Ca and Fe content of the yielded fruits compared with control plants. This study reveals that foliar spray of eggplant with ascorbic acid (vitamin C), salicylic acid (SA), Mo or B could be effectively increase productivity of plants and improve chemical constituent of the yielded fruits. Key words: ascorbic acid, salicylic acid, molybdenum, boron, aubergine, eggplant, yield, chemical composition, sandy soil. chloroplast and electron transport system. It also, stimulates respiration activities, cell division and many enzymes activities [5 2 ]. Salicylic acid is a phenolic compound and natural constituent of plant[3 7 ]. SA application to plants induced various biological responses, enzyme activities such as amylase and nitrate reductase [4 3 ,4 4 ], increased growth and yield of many plants [2 6 ,6 0 ], interfered with membrane ion transport and absorption in roots [7 ]. Micronutrients such as Boron (B ) and Molybdenum (Mo) are needed in very small quantities even as low as few parts per million. Boron nutrition is influenced by many factors. The most important are soil texture, organic matter content, and pH. Increasing soil pH decreases B availability to plants. Boron deficiencies occur in soils with pH levels near 7.0 and above [2 1 ]. Primary function of boron is related to cell wall formation, flowers retention and pollen formation and germination also affected and reduced with low boron supply [5 1 ]. Molybdenum is involved in enzyme systems related to nitrogen fixation, N. metabolism, protein synthesis and sulfur metabolism [5 1 ]. The present work aimed to alleviate the poor growth of eggplants grown under newly reclaimed sandy soil using different concentrations of ascorbic
INTRODUCTION Eggplant, (aubergine) is a plant of solanaceae family. Eggplant fruits have low calories and high minerals content (potassium, manganese, magnesium, phosphorus and copper), folate and dietary fibers. It is also a good source of vitamin C, K, B6 and thiamin. Egyptian new reclaimed land is characterized as arid and semi-arid zones with poor soil nutrients and unfavorable environmental conditions. This means that most of the vegetable crops such as eggplant grown under such conditions need different applications as they may suffer from various environmental stresses in the field. Enhancing growth and productivity under these conditions will be of a great importance to maximize the yield. Application of some growth stimulators such as vitamin C or salicylic acid and micronutrients such Mo or B could be effective in enhancing growth and yield of eggplant under such unfavorable conditions. Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) is considered as plant growth regulator and required in trace amounts to maintain normal growth [3 0 ]..The function of ascorbic acid is reversal of stress effects (low temperature, drought and salinity), antioxidants protection of
Corresponding Author: Abdalla A. Ghoname, Vegetable Research Dept., National Research Centre, Cairo, Egypt. Email:
[email protected] 964
Res. J. Agric. & Biol. Sci., 4(6): 964-972, 2008 acid, salicylic acid, Boron and Molybdenum as foliar spray as a way to improve growth, yield and fruit nutritional value of eggplant under such unfavorable conditions.
length (cm), number of leaves/plant, plant fresh and dry weight. Fruit Yield and Yield Component: T he fruits were harvested five times when attained full size but still shining purple for vegetable purpose. Fruit physical characteristics (fruit length and diameter) as well as fresh and dry weight were recorded. Total number of fruits per plant, early yield (the collection of the first two harvests as g/plant) and total fruit yield per plant were also recorded.
M ATERIALS AND M ETHODS This study was conducted during the winter of 2007 and 2008 seasons at the Experimental Station of the National Research Centre, Noubaria, Behaira Governorate, North of Egypt. W hile preparing the field soil samples up to 25 cm depth were obtained for chemical analysis, soil texture, EC, pH, organic matter, and N , P, K. The experiment soil had a sandy texture with pH of 7.6, EC of 0.18 (Ds / m in soil paste) and the organic matter was 0.19% with 15.00, 9.40, 16.00 mg / 100 g soil of N, P, and K respectively.
Fruit Chemical Composition: Determination of Total Phenols: Half gram of dried fruits was blended with 40 ml of 70% aqueous acetone then boiled for (2-5) hours under a condenser to extract the total polyphenols and lefted to get cool. The mixture was then filtered using W attman No. 1 filter paper and the residue was mixed with another 40 ml of 70% aqueous acetone and the extraction process was repeated twice. The collected methanolic extracts were combined and completed to a final volume of 100 ml. Ten drops of concentrated hydrochloric acid were added to 1ml of the extract, and then heated rapidly to boiling in a water bath for about 10 minutes. After cooling, 1ml of the reagent and 1.5 ml of sodium carbonate solution (14%) were added. The mixture was diluted to 10 ml with distilled water then thoroughly mixed. The reaction mixture was heated in boiling water for 5 minutes, and then cooled and the developing color was spectrophotometrically measured at 520 nm using the Folin–Ciocalteu reagent (Aldrich Chemical Co. St. Louis, MO, U.S.A.) as described by W ettasinghe and Shahidi[5 6 ].
Plant M aterial: Eggplant seedlings (cv. Black King) were obtained from a local commercial nursery where healthy seedlings of uniform size were selected and transplanted on the 15 th February, 2007 and 18 th February, 2008, respectively. Transplanting was done on ridges of 70 cm width with a spacing of 30 cm in the row. Plot size was 20 m 2 , after one week of transplantation, dead seedlings (~5%) were replaced by planting fresh seedlings to obtain a uniform stand. A full dose of P 2 O 5 (90 kg / feddan) as single super phosphate (15% P 2 O 5 ) and K 2 O (60 kg / feddan) as potassium sulphate (50% K 2 O) with half a dose of the assigned N dose in the form of ammonium nitrate was applied at soil preparation, while remaining N was applied 30 days after transplanting. Normal agricultural practices as recommended by Egyptian Ministry of Agriculture were followed. Irrigation was done regularly each other day. First hoeing and weeding was done 20 days after transplantation and two more weeding were done at one month interval.
Determination of Tannins: Tannins of the dried fruits were d eterm ined using the modified vanillin Hydrochloric acid (MV-HCl) as reported by Maxson and Rooney [2 7 ]. Samples of 1 gram dried fruits were extracted with 1% concentrated hydrochloric acid in methanol, the samples were shaken on a reciprocating shaker for 24 hours, (the same length of time was used for all samples) and let settle. 5 ml of vanillin-HCl reagent (50:50 mixtures of 4% vanillin / 8% HCl in methanol) was quickly added 1 ml extract. The optical density of developed colour was measured at 500 nm using Shimadzu spectrophotometer model UV 1201. By plotting the optical densities against catechin concentrations, the standard curve was obtained and tannins % was calculated.
Treatments: Plants were sprayed twice with following substances at 15 days interval beginning after 30 days from transplanting: • Control (only water). • Ascorbic acid at 200ppm • Ascorbic acid at 400ppm • Salicylic acid at 100ppm • Salicylic acid at 200ppm • Molybdenum at 5 mg/l • Boron at 200 mg/l M easurements: Vegetative Growth Parameters: A random sample of five plants from each experimental sub plot was taken at 75 days after transplanting and the following vegetative growth characters were recorded: plant
Determination of Anthocyanins: Anthocyanins were determined in air dried fruits as the method described by Tibor and Francis [5 3 ]. A mixture of ethanol 95% and 1.5 N HCl (85:15) was prepared and its pH was 965
Res. J. Agric. & Biol. Sci., 4(6): 964-972, 2008 adjusted to 1. A known mass were macerated with 50 ml extracting solvent and stored at 4c overnight. The sample was filtered on whatman No.1 filter paper. The extract was completed to a known volume with extracting solvent. The colour of the extract was measured at the absorption maximum (520nm) using Shimadzu spectropho to m eter m o d el U V 1201 calculated.
RESULT AND DISCUSSION Vegetative Growth: Data in Table (1) revealed the effect of different concentrations of ascorbic acid, salicylic acid, M o and B on eggplant shoot length, No of leaves per plant, fresh and dry weight of shoots. All applied treatments revealed non significant increases on plant length and number of leaves per plant in both studied seasons. Regarding to the fresh and dry weight of shoots, all treatments induced significant increases except B treatment which was not significant when compared with untreated plants. Salicylic acid (100 and 200 ppm) was the most effective treatment. Same trend was observed in the two studied seasons. The simulative effect of SA and ascorbic acid on fresh and dry weight of eggplant shoots may be due to that they involved as antioxidant defense, regulation of photosynthesis, and growth [4 ,4 9 ]. These results are in agreement with those reported by El-Zawahry and Hamada [1 6 ], Arisha [2 ], Yousef and Talaat[5 8 ], Gamal ElDin 1 9 and Sadak et al. [4 1 ] on different plants. These Anti-stress substances may enhance the plant tolerance to environmental stresses [5 0 ]. Salicylic acid has been found, among many other functions, to control ion uptake by roots, stomata conductivity and to increase the antioxidant capacity of plants [3 7 ]. Also, ascorbic acid (vitamin C) is one of antioxidant substances concentrated in the chloroplast and protect the photosynthetic apparatus when a plant is subjected to stress, by scavenging the excessively reactive oxygen species known as free radicals [1 8 ,2 5 ]. Such effects might be due to protecting the endogenous anti-oxidant systems often correlated with increased resistance to oxidative stress and/or controlling the level of free radicals within plant tissues[5 0 ]. It is also possible that anti-stress substances are effective in maintaining the membrane integrity to reduce the leakage of electrolyte through its positive effect on the antioxidant enzymes system as has been demonstrated by Pinhero and Fletcher [3 3 ] in corn seedlings. It is generally known that most of environmental stresses have in common a similar mechanism in affecting plant growth and performance. Under stress conditions, the generation of free radicals and low nutrient uptake are believed to be the main cause for damaging and dis-functioning of plant cells[5 ,5 0 ].
Determination of Total Carbohydrates: A known mass (0.2-0.5 g) of dried fruits was placed in a test tube, then 10 ml of sulphuric acid (1N) was added. The tube was sealed and placed overnight in an oven at 100ºC. The solution was then filtered into a measuring flask (100ml) and completed to the mark with distilled water. The total sugars were determined Colorimeterically according to the method of Smith et al., [4 8 ] as follows: An aliquot of 1ml of sugar solution was transferred into test tube and treated with 1ml of 5% aqueous phenol solution followed by 5 ml of concentrated sulphuric acid. The tubes were thoroughly shaken for ten minutes then placed in a water bath at 23-30ºC for 20 minutes. The optical density of the developed colour was measured at 490 nm using Shimadzu spectrophotometer model UV 1201. A standard curve of successive concentration values of glucose solution was used to calculate total carbohydrates. Determination of Ascorbic Acid: Ascorbic acid was determined by using the 2,6,dichlorophenol-indophenol dye titration method 2 9 where 1 g representing sample of fresh fruits were weighed and grounded using mortar and pestle with addition of 2 ml of metaphosphoric acetic acid .The mixture was filtered and the extract was made up to10 ml with the metaphosphoric-acetic acid mixture. Five ml of the metaphosphoric-acetic acid solution was pipetted into 25 ml flask followed by 2 ml of the samples extract. Samples were titrated separately with the indophenol dye solution until a light rose pink persisted for 5 sec. The amount of dye used in the titration were determined and used in the calculation of vitamin C content. Moreover, Fe, Ca and K were determined by Atomic absorption spectrophotomer using perkin Elmer Model 370A as described by Chapman and Pratt [6 ]. Experimental Design and Statistical Analysis: The experimental design used in the two successive seasons was complete randomized block design with 4 replicates and analysis of variance was calculated using ANOVA and mean separation at 5% level was done using the LSD test according to the method described by Gomez and Gomez [2 0 ].
Fruit Characteristics and Yield Components: Table (2) clearly demonstrate that salicylic acid, ascorbic acid, Mo and B significantly enhanced eggplant fruit characteristics expressed as fruit length, fruit diameter and fruit fresh and dry weight as compared with the untreated plants. Maximum increments were obtained
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Res. J. Agric. & Biol. Sci., 4(6): 964-972, 2008 Gamal El-Din [3 8 ], El-Basiouny [1 2 ] and Sadak et al. [4 1 ] on different plants. Concerning salicylic acid effect, Sharma et al.[4 4 ] stated that salicylic acid may affect through increasing enzyme activities as amylase nitrate reduction, which accelerate the sugar translocation from the leaves to developing fruits. Moreover, Usha and Singh [5 4 ] concluded that increase in carbohydrate contents in response to Boron application can be explained in terms of the involvement of this nutrient in regulating carbohydrate metabolism and its translocation [2 1 ].
by applying 100 ppm of salicylic acid followed by 200 ppm salicylic acid then both ascorbic acid treatments in 2007 and 2008 seasons. Higher fruit quality and yield components of eggplant as affected by salicylic and ascorbic acids foliar application in (Table 2) may be attributed to the indirect effect of both materials in many biochemical processes. Patila and Lall [3 1 ] attributed the synergistic effect of ascorbic acid to its involvement in the main metabolic processes, especially with energy co-enzyme, carbohydrates metabolism and improved biosynthetic activities. The obtained results are in agreement with Abdel-Halim 1 who found that the application of vitamin C on tomato plants caused significant increase on fruit set and total fruit yield per plant. Same results were obtained by El-Lithy and El-Greadly [1 4 ] on cantaloupe fruits. The simulative effects of salicylic acid were found in onion [2 3 ]. Other plants were indicated the same trend such as potato [1 1 ], pepper [4 5 ] and pea plants [2 2 ]. Foliar applications of micro-nutrients (Mo and B) significantly improved the fruits quality expressed as fruit length and diameter as well as average fruit weight and also yield components of eggplant fruit (Table 2). These increases which recorded by Mo and B application can be explained in terms of the involvem ent of these nutrients in regulating carbohydrate metabolism and translocation. Boron is also essential for cell division in growing plant tissue; good pollination, fruit set, and seed development; synthesis of amino acids and proteins; and regulation of carbohydrate metabolism [2 1 ]. The obtained result in concern with B was reported by Rana and sharma [3 6 ] , Perovic [3 2 ], Singh and Rethy [4 7 ], Usha and Singh [5 4 ] and Singh et al., [4 6 ]. Blevins and Lakaszewski3 suggested that adequate B nutrition is critical not only for obtaining higher yields but also for fruit quality.
Total Phenols Contents: Foliar spray of ascorbic acid, salicylic acid, Mo and B significantly increased the concentration of total phenols in eggplant fruits (Fig. 1). Foliar spray of salicylic acid was more effective than ascorbic acid, Mo or B. The most effective treatment was 200 ppm salicylic acid and this may be due to that salicylic acid is a phenolic constituent of plant [3 7 ]. Therefore, it could be expected that applied salicylic acid increased phenolic concentration as previously mentioned by Zaghlool et al [5 9 ] in bean pods. Also salicylic acid accumulated under stress conditions [4 4 ]. The increase in total phenols in response to all treatments may be due to the increase in carbohydrate synthesis [4 0 ,5 7 ]. Moreover, Dawood and Sadak [8 ] showed that the increase in total phenolic contents was concur with the increase in IAA contents and led to the suggestion that most of phenolic compounds are diphenols and polyphenols which may inhibit IAA oxidase activity which resulting in auxin accumulation, which reflected in stimulating the growth and yield of plant. In addition plants with high levels of antioxidants, either constitutive or induced, have been reported as having greater resistance to this oxidative damage caused by stress [1 0 ,1 7 ]. Recent research results have shown that the diverse phenolic compounds present in vegetables are responsible for the high antioxidant capacity shown by these products [3 5 ]. In view of this, an increase in the consumption of vegetables has been suggested so as to observe the beneficial effects of the antioxidant phytochemicals 3 4 . Stresses such as light, temperature, water-stress and wounding, affect the physiology of fresh produce by triggering responses that could induce the accumulation of phenolic compounds or other secondary metabolites [2 4 ,4 2 ].
Fruit Chemical Composition: Total Carbohydrate Contents: The levels of total carbohydrates were significantly increased in response to salicylic acid, ascorbic acid, Mo and B treatments as compared with those of controls (Table 3). The maximum increase in total carbohydrate content (59.74%) was observed by ascorbic acid at 200 ppm. Similar trend was also obtained in the second studied season. The substantial increase in carbohydrate contents may be due to the activation of photosynthetic machinery, as a result of the stimulatory effects of the used plant growth biostimulators on photosynthetic process [2 8 ]. The obtained data with respect to ascorbic acid are in agreement with El-Shazly and El-Masri[1 5 ], Reda and
Total Anthocyanins: T he application of the different concentrations of ascorbic acid, salicylic acid, Mo or B induced a significant increment in anthocyanin contents in the two studied seasons (Fig. 2) but this increment
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Res. J. Agric. & Biol. Sci., 4(6): 964-972, 2008 were not significant except for 200 ppm ascorbic acid, 200 ppm salicylic acid and Mo and B foliar application. The maximum increase was recorded in response to 200 ppm ascorbic acid as compared with untreated plants (controls). The increase in anthocyanin contents in eggplant fruits resulted fro m the d ifferent treatments concomitantly with the increases in total carbohydrate and total phenol contents (Table 3).
Ascorbic Acid and Tannin Contents: An increase on ascorbic acid in eggplant fruits was attained by all used treatments which reached the level of significance by 200 and 400 ppm of ascorbic acid in both seasons respectively. W ith respect to tannin contents of eggplant fruits similar observation was also found as a result of ascorbic acid 200 or 400 ppm, salicylic acid with 100 or 200 ppm, Mo with 5 mg/L or B with 200 mg/L. Such results were recorded by Ibrahim and Sanaa [2 3 ] on anion plant.
Table 1: Effect of Ascorbic, Salicylic acid and M o, B foliar spray on vegetative growth of eggplant plants in the two studied seasons. Treatm ents plant length N o. of Plant fresh Plant dry plant length N o. of Plant fresh Plant dry (cm ) leaves wt. (g) wt. (g) (cm ) leaves wt. (g) wt. (g) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2007 season 2008 season Control 36.86 29.09 102.22 18.39 32.48 25.67 89.69 16.79 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Ascorbic Acid 200ppm 37.88 31.1 119.82 22.22 33.16 27.74 97.56 18.88 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Ascorbic Acid 400ppm 38.86 35.86 131.82 24.94 34.27 27.25 98.80 18.98 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Salicylic Acid 100ppm 39.75 31.25 145.18 26.33 35.15 29.84 127.82 20.79 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Salicylic Acid 200ppm 40.29 36.59 148.08 26.65 36.20 31.96 130.37 21.19 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------M o (5 m g/l) 37.25 32.04 115.85 21.43 33.18 28.92 93.27 17.38 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------B (200 m g/l) 37.85 31.68 109.66 19.13 32.83 27.78 96.58 17.87 LSD at 5% level NS NS 13.20 2.03 NS NS 12.89 1.92 Table 2: Effect of A scorbic, S alicylic acid and M o, B foliar spray on fruit characteristics, early and total fruit yield of eggplant plants in the two studied seasons. Treatm ents Fruit length Fruit diam eter Fruit fresh Fruit dry N o. of Early yield Total yield (cm ) (cm ) wt. (g) wt.(g) fruits/plant (g/plant) (g/plant) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2007 season Control 6.95 4.29 90.19 9.46 18.1 911.63 1521.51 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Ascorbic Acid 200ppm 10.4 5.25 189.12 17.45 23.9 1014.91 2231.86 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Ascorbic Acid 400ppm 12.06 5.94 170.28 15.51 23.03 1023.42 2699.35 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Salicylic Acid 100ppm 12.21 6.41 179.45 16.6 23.5 2025.78 5753.09 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Salicylic Acid 200ppm 11.6 6.24 176.15 13.11 24.5 1957.25 3398.59 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------M o (5 m g/l) 9.43 5.78 120.85 12.18 23.33 1654.35 2819.43 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------B (200 m g/l) 9.6 5.15 101.12 11.51 25.8 1621.62 2961.69 LSD at 5% level 1.78 0.62 18.48 1.71 1.38 60.72 204.66 2008 season Control 6.67 4.05 86.58 9.08 16.20 875.16 1460.65 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Ascorbic Acid 200ppm 11.19 5.53 192.72 17.71 20.94 982.48 2591.37 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Ascorbic Acid 400ppm 13.85 5.84 172.52 14.02 21.11 974.31 2142.58 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Salicylic Acid 100ppm 12.08 5.99 177.26 15.21 23.15 1944.75 5522.96 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Salicylic Acid 200ppm 10.50 5.87 171.97 13.97 22.68 1878.96 3262.64 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------M o (5 m g/l) 9.05 5.03 116.02 11.69 21.40 1588.18 2706.65 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------B (200 m g/l) 9.44 5.35 112.96 10.88 26.28 1556.76 2843.22 LSD at 5% level 1.62 0.58 16.98 1.52 1.16 52.32 191.33
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Res. J. Agric. & Biol. Sci., 4(6): 964-972, 2008 Table 3: Effect of A scorbic, Salicylic acid and M o, B foliar spray on fruit chem ical com position of eggplant plants in the two studied seasons. Treatm ents Total carbohy drates Tannins Ascorbic acid Total carbohydrates Tannins Ascorbic acid (m g/g D W ) (m g/g D W ) (m g/g FW ) (m g/g D W ) (m g/g D W ) (m g/g FW ) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2007 season 2008 season Control 17.81 0.48 28.63 17.28 0.54 32.92 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Ascorbic Acid 200ppm 28.45 0.86 46.85 27.60 0.96 53.88 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Ascorbic Acid 400ppm 23.75 0.54 29.99 23.04 0.60 34.49 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Salicylic Acid 100ppm 21.85 0.52 29.95 21.19 0.58 34.44 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Salicylic Acid 200ppm 27.98 0.83 44.25 27.14 0.93 50.89 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------M o (5 m g/l) 27.96 0.74 34.95 27.12 0.83 40.19 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------B (200 m g/l) 25.25 0.58 32.95 24.49 0.65 37.89 LSD at 5% level 3.25 0.14 16.1 3.15 0.16 18.52 Table 4: Effect of A scorbic, Salicylic acid and M o, B foliar spray on fruit m ineral content (m g/100 g D ry w eight) of eggplant. Treatm ents K Ca Fe K Ca Fe -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2007 season 2008 season Control 2350 239 5.90 2280 225 5.66 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Ascorbic Acid 200ppm 2700 272 7.31 2619 256 7.02 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Ascorbic Acid 400ppm 2430 261 6.04 2357 245 5.80 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Salicylic Acid 100ppm 2380 258 6.97 2309 243 6.69 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Salicylic Acid 200ppm 3120 274 7.96 3026 258 7.64 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------M o (5 m g/l) 2480 263 6.35 2406 247 6.10 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------B (200 m g/l) 2560 268 6.44 2483 252 6.18 LSD at 5% level 491 58.0 0.9 421 54.2 0.8
Fig. 1: Effect of Ascorbic, Salicylic acid and Mo, B foliar spray on total soluble phenols (mg/g FW ) of eggplant fruits. Vertical bars present LSD value at p $ 5%.
Fig. 2: Effect of Ascorbic, Salicylic acid and Mo, B foliar spray on anthocyanin content (mg/g DW ) of eggplant fruits. Vertical bars present LSD value at p $ 5%.
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Res. J. Agric. & Biol. Sci., 4(6): 964-972, 2008 M in er a l C o n ten ts: A p p licatio n s o f va rio us concentrations of ascorbic acid, salicylic acid, Mo and B increased K, Ca, and Fe as compared to those of control plant in fruits of eggplant plant in the two studied seasons (Table 4), these increases were not significant in all treatments except salicylic acid with 200 ppm in K content. Meanwhile, the increases were not significant in all treatments for Ca content. W hile the increments were significant in response to all treatments with Fe contents. The most effective treatment was 200 ppm salicylic acid. These increases of mineral contents of eggplant fruits as a result of different treatment may be due to the translocation of those elements to fruits of eggplant plants. Our obtained results are in agreement with those of Deyab [9 [ on leguminous plant, El-Ghamriny et al., p 1 3 [ on tomato, Reffat & Balbaa [3 9 ]on lemongrass plant, and El-Banna et al.,[1 1 ] who found that N, P and K contents in potato were significantly increased by ascorbic acid foliar application. These obtained increases may be due to the enhancing effect of different treatments on some metabolic activities of eggplant plants. The influence of applied treatments on the mechanism of ions uptake may be related to their effects on membrane permeability and rate of ion entry through the membrane, or enhancing their translocation to the fruits [5 5 ]. Finally, this study can recommend that foliar spray of eggplant with ascorbic acid (vitamin C), salicylic acid (SA), Mo or B could be effective in increasing productivity of eggplant and improving chemical constituent of the yielded fruits specially under newly reclaimed soils.
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