Comparison between sterilized zeolite and natural zeolite in the Cactus Pear (Opuntia Ficus-Indica L. Mill.) growing
CREA Research Centre for Vegetable and Ornamental Crops, Council for Agricultural Research and Economics, Via dei Fiori 8, 51012 Pescia, PT, Italy.
Research Article
GSC Advanced Research and Reviews, 2020, 05(01), 007-014.
Article DOI: 10.30574/gscarr.2020.5.1.0080
Publication history:
Received on 20 September 2020; revised on 27 September 2020; accepted on 29 September 2020
Abstract:
In this experiment it was determined whether the capacities of zeolites are influenced by the microbial colonies that are present in the soil, which can with their activity increase the interactions between roots, zeolites and soil. The microorganisms have the ability to lower the pH of the substrate and soil and can determine a solubilization of the mineral elements contained, which are more absorbed by plants. The experimental groups were: i) group without zeolites, irrigated with water and substrate previously fertilized; ii) group with natural chabazite and fertilised substrate; iii) group with sterilized chabazite and fertilised substrate. The zeolite was sterilized at high pressure saturated steam at 121 ° C for about 20 minutes. The theses treated with natural chabazite showed an improvement of all agronomic parameters analyzed on Opuntia ficus-indica plants, fruit characteristics and mineral content in the three cultivars Sulfarina, Sanguigna and Muscaredda. Natural chabazite gave better results than sterilized chabazite and untreated control, demonstrating that indeed the presence of the biotic component of zeolite plays a fundamental role in the interactions between zeolite and plant. All these aspects are very important for growers because the use of zeolites, especially natural chabazite, guarantees the possibility to reduce the amount of fertilizers in the substrates and to optimize irrigation while obtaining quality plants that grow better, produce more and suffer less.
Keywords:
Opuntia ficus-indica; Microorganisms; Sustainable agriculture; Zeolites; Rhizosphere
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Copyright © 2020 Author(s) retain the copyright of this article. This article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Liscense 4.0
