Abstract:
Carnation growers heavily use mineral fertilizers and plant growth regulators to obtain desirable stem length, girth and flower head size against Global GAP. This dependency on inorganic fertilizers and synthetic chemicals adversely pollute the environment. While there are limited alternatives to inorganic fertilisers for meeting the nutritional requirements of crops, organic products for regulating plant growth and development are lacking in some crops. The main objective of this study was to contribute to improved production and quality of carnations through application of bioslurry and plant biostimulant, Hicure®. Two greenhouse experiments were conducted in Finlays, Lemotit flower farm, located in Kericho county, Kenya and lying at a latitude of 0o22’ South and longitude 35o18’ East. They were laid in split plot embedded in a randomized complete block design with three replications. An established carnation crop planted on soil media at a density of 36 plants per m2 was used. Four levels of bioslurry: 0, 0.125, 0.25 and 0.5L m-2 were applied in the main plot while four levels of Hicure®: 0, 2.0, 2.5 and 3.0L ha-1 were used in the sub-plot. All treatments were applied four times at interval of two weeks after pinching. Data were collected from 10 tagged sample plants on vegetative, physiological and flowering parameters and subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) using GENSTAT 14th Edition. Separation of means was performed using the Least Significant Difference. Bioslurry or Hicure® did not have a significant effect on flower stem length and diameter (p≤0.05). However, the interaction of bioslurry and Hicure® at the rate of 0.5L m-2 and 3L ha-1 significantly improved the flower stem length (p≤0.05). Application of bioslurry at all the tested rates significantly increased the flower head diameter in trial 2 while all the tested rates of plant biostimulant Hicure® significantly improved the flower head diameter during trial 1. The application of bioslurry and plant biostimulant Hicure® did not have any significant effect on carnation yield and weight although increases in number of stems were observed. Application of bioslurry had no significant effect on the vase life of carnations while Hicure® at the tested rates significantly reduced the vase life. It was concluded that application of bioslurry at the rate of 0.5L m-2 and plant biostimulant Hicure® at the rate 3L ha-1 can therefore, be adopted for improvement of carnation quality parameters such as stem length and flower head size.
