Enhancing the Quality of Two Species of Baby Leaves Sprayed with Moringa Leaf Extract as Biostimulant
Articolo
Data di Pubblicazione:
2021
Citazione:
Enhancing the Quality of Two Species of Baby Leaves Sprayed with Moringa Leaf Extract as Biostimulant / S. Toscano, A. Ferrante, F. Branca, D. Romano. - In: AGRONOMY. - ISSN 2073-4395. - 11:7(2021), pp. 1399.1-1399.18. [10.3390/agronomy11071399]
Abstract:
Natural biostimulants obtained by plants are intensively used nowadays to improve crop
yield and quality. The current study aimed to evaluate the effects of leaf extract of moringa (Moringa
oleifera Lam.) (MLE) in modifying baby leaf characteristics of two genotypes of Brassica. The trial
was started in October 2020 in a greenhouse; a cultivar of kale ‘Cavolo Laciniato Nero di Toscana’
(CL) and a Sicilian landrace of sprouting broccoli ‘Broccoli Nero’ (BN) were used. The plants, after
15, 30 and 40 days from sowing, were treated with MLE, while the control plants (C) with distilled
water. Treatment with MLE modified morphological and nutritional value, but with different
behavior in the two genotypes. In fact, in BN the treatment reduced the antioxidant activity (2.2-
diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH)) by 54%, while in CL the treatment increased this parameter by
40%. For the phenolic concentration and the sugar content the values recorded were significantly
increased by MLE compared to control plants in CL, where in BN a significant reduction was
registered. The CL plants treated with MLE showed a significant reduction (−70%) in nitrate content
compared to the control plants; a negative effect was, instead, observed in BN, where the plants
treated with moringa showed an increase of 60%. Results of this study showed how the foliar
application of MLE was effective in improving various nutraceutical parameters, in particular in kale, because it appears to be a species-specific response.
Tipologia IRIS:
01 - Articolo su periodico
Keywords:
brassicaceae; biostimulants; antioxidant activity; total sugars; nitrate content
Elenco autori:
S. Toscano, A. Ferrante, F. Branca, D. Romano
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