Abstract

N. Akila and T. Jeyadoss*    

A field experiment was carried out during the chithiraipattam (April-May) in India in 2010 to study the effects of foliar applications of different concentrations of seaweed liquid fertilizer (SLF) of Sargassum wightii on growth, biochemical constituents and antioxidant enzymes of Helianthus annuus L. to explore the possibilities of reducing or avoiding chemical fertilizers and to obtain the highest growth and productive parameters. The foliar spray was given twice in 15days interval at two concentrations (2.5%, 5.0%) of SLF. The aqueous extract of Sargassum wightii was found to promote almost all the parameters such as shoot length, root length, leaf length, leaf breadth, fresh weight, dry weight and number of leaves. The biochemical contents such as chlorophyll a, b, total chlorophyll, carotenoids, carbohydrate, total phenols and antioxidant enzymes such as catalase, peroxidase and glutathione peroxidase (GPX) were also found to be higher in the leaves. Among the two concentrations 2.5% was found to produce better results in almost all the parameters. The results revealed that foliar application of seaweed extract could be a promising option for pollution free non toxic growth enhancement of Helianthus annuus L

Sargassum wightii; growth; biochemical constituents; antioxidant enzymes; Seaweed Liquid Fertilizer

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