Abstract
There is great interest in using sustainable fertilizer to enhance medicinal plant quality
such as Centella asiatica, which is known for its various medicinal properties. Here,
we examined the performance of NPK-Organo-Zeolite (NPKOZ) as a controlled
release fertilizer for the growth of C. asiatica. Natural zeolite that has been modified
with surfactant hexadecyltrimethyl ammonium (HDTMA) and addition with
ammonium (N), phosphate (P) and potassium (K) was characterized with X-ray
diffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. In a leaching study, it was
found the NPKOZ showed fewer losses of nutrients. For the plant growth study, a
comparison was made with eight different treatments including chemical fertilizers
monoammonium phosphate and monopotassium phosphate for 70 days.
Morphological (number of flowers, branches and leaves, specific leaf area and plant
biomass) and biochemical growth parameters (N, P, K and chlorophyll contents) of
the plant were analysed. Second cultivation was also conducted to compare potted,
hydroponic and verticulture systems with or without NPKOZ. The NPKOZs
treatments resulted in the highest number of leaves, branches and flowers among all
treatments. In addition, the chlorophyll contents were also the highest with NPKOZs
application. The NPK contents in the C. asiatica plants were comparable with that of
chemical fertilizers tested. This study showed that NPKOZ fertilizer with verticulture
system is a suitable sustainable controlled release fertilizer for the improvement of the
growth of C. asiatica.
Noor Asyraf Noor Azman, Nik Ahmad Nizam Nik Malek, Muhammad Arshad Javed. (2018) Improving the growth of Centella asiatica using surfactant modified natural zeolite loaded with NPK nutrients, Asian Journal of Agriculture and Biology, Volume 6, Issue 1.
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