The Effect of Nitrogen and Phosphorus Ratios and Electrical Conductivity on Plant Growth

Environmental concerns surround the use of plant growth retardants (PGRs) for plant height control, and non-chemical alternatives to PGRs can be labor intensive and expensive. Macronutrient modification is a little-studied, yet potentially effective method of controlling plant height. A number of studies have suggested that phosphorus (P) limitation may restrict plant height. Anecdotal evidence also suggests that using nitrate (NO3-), rather than ammonium (NH4+), as the principal nitrogen (N) source may help control plant height. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate different ratios of NO3-/ NH4+, NO3-/P and NH4+/P as well as electrical conductivity (EC) on plant height and growth. This was tested in a hydroponic system using marigolds, sunflowers and tomatoes. Initially, different ratios were tested at an EC of 1.2 dS·m-1, followed by using the same ratios at four ECs (0.6, 1.2, 2.2 and 4.0 dS·m-1) as a second objective. Although ratios did, at times, limit plant height, responses were season and species dependent, suggesting that modifications in plant nutrition, at the ratios used in this study, may not effectively control plant height in hydroponic systems. More consistent, yet species specific, height control was achieved by increasing EC level.

Chlorocholine Chloride Induces Cacao Reproductive Development Leading to Improved Fruitlets Productivity of Cacao Trees in the Field

Fruitlet abscission （cherelle wilt） is a major factor contributing to lower productivity of cacao plantation in Indonesia. An attempt was made to reduce such cherelle wilt by spraying plant growth retardants （PGRs） on cacao trees at about 10 weeks before flowering session. The treatment was repeated every three weeks. Both the flowering initiation time and the number of flowers on the treated trees were improved significantly. With the most effective composition, flowers were initiated at 24 days after spraying （DAS）, where as the flowering initiation was 11-day later in the controls. At the 35 DAS, the chlorocholine chloride （CCC） 2,000 treatment induced about 20-80 folds more flowers than the controls. Extended observation was made to assess the treatment effect on the fruiting capacity. The treatments were found to improve fruiting ability by increasing the number of fruits set on the trees and shortening the time for fruit setting. At 20 weeks after the first spraying （WAS） there were on average 12.57 fruits per CCC 2,000-treated tree, as opposed to only 4.14 fruits per untreated tree. Analyses of the metabolites content in the flower cushions of the trees indicated that the reproductive growth is significantly correlated with the increased metabolites particularly the reduced sugar. Exogenous addition of sucrose to the PGR treatment gave greater improvement mainly in the fruiting. In conclusion, foliar spray of CCC induces flowering of cacao tress in the field that leads to improve the fruitlets productivity.