Evaluation of an echinacea-based biofertilizer on the growth of two agri-food solanaceous plants
Contextualization: Agroecological cultivation practices such as biofertilization are a viable tool for improving the productivity of small and medium-sized producers of food crops. These practices increase the availability of nutrients for plants, making use of nature's own resources such as organic wastes of animal and vegetable origin, as well as minerals and microorganisms that alone or combined, in liquid or solid forms, help to improve soil and plant nutrition. Knowledge gap: in view of the negative effect of intensive inorganic fertilization practices, there is a need to implement agroecological biofertilization strategies aimed at more efficient food production, within the framework of production systems that meet quality, safety and environmental sustainability requirements, in order to achieve greater acceptance for marketing and consumption. Purpose: the main objective of the study was to evaluate an organic-mineralized microbial broth and the effects of its application on the growth and development of Capsicum pubescens Ruiz & Pav. and Solanum muricatum Aiton, promising high Andean species in Bogotá D.C. Methodology: a microbial broth obtained from an-aerobic fermentation in an organic mineral support was elaborated and characterized chemically and microbiologically. The broth was applied to C. pubescens and S. muricatum seedlings in edaphic form (drench) at a 10% concentration 21, 42, 63, 85 and 106 days after transplanting. Four treatments and 30 replicates were evaluated. The variables evaluated were plant height, number of leaves, stem diameter and incidence of leaf damage. The experiment was analyzed using a completely randomized block design, in which the blocking factor corresponded to the days on which the treatments were applied and monitored; and the assumptions of the model were validated for each of the response variables. Results and conclusions: Regarding the chemical and microbiological composition of the biofertilizer based on echinacea, it was found that it contains a great variety of nutrients, macro and microelements, as well as microorganisms essential for the balance in plant nutrition. In the effect on plant growth, development and health, the biofertilizer proved to be the second best treatment after the chemical control. For greater effectiveness, the organic-mineralized microbial broths should be applied periodically to ensure the multiplication and activation of the introduced microorganisms and to promote native microbial activity.