Article:EM-Bokashi Addition to the Growing Media for the Quality Improvement of Kalanchoe Blossfeldiana

D. Prisa1 1CREA Research Centre for Vegetable and Ornamental Crops, Council for Agricultural Research and Economics, Via dei Fiori 8, 51012 Pescia, PT, Italy Corresponding author: domenico.prisa@crea.gov.it, , tel:+39-3391062935

Abstract. In this study, the effect of introducing different amounts of EM-Bokashi into the growing medium of Kalanchoe Blossfeldiana was evaluated (Figure 1) to determine whether this organic soil is able to improve the growth and flowering of these succulents. The five experimental groups in cultivation were: i) group without beneficial EM-Bokashi; ii) group with 5% EM-Bokashi; iii) group with 10% EM-Bokashi; iv) group with 15% EM-Bokashi; v) group with 20% EM-Bokashi. All plants treated with EM-Bokashi showed a significant increase in the agronomic parameters analysed compared to the untreated control. The results show that the addition of Bokashi to the growing medium of Kalanchoe Blossfeldiana can improve plant quality, in particular agronomic and physiological characteristics and increased nutrient and water uptake. The analytical results lead to the following conclusions: i) the addition of already 5% Bokashi to the growing medium can bring significant improvements to the cultivation of Kalanchoe Blossfeldiana; ii) significant improvements in terms of plant and root biomass will stabilise for amounts of Bokashi in excess of 10% in the substrate; iii) EM-Bokashi significantly improves plant nutrient and water uptake; iv) plants treated with Bokashi photosynthesize and have a higher chlorophyll content and are more efficient in the use of water; v) the qualitative and physiological improvement of plants is probably determined by the presence of beneficial bacteria in the Bokashi soil conditioner, which stimulate plants and increase nutrient uptake.

Key-words: Microorganisms; Sustainable applications; Succulent; Rhizosphere; Effective microorganism.

Link paper: https://www.ijmsat.com/archives/ijmsat-volume-1-issue-1