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A b s t r a c tThe pot cultivar of Chrysanthemum x grandiflorum 'Leticia Time Yellow' was cultivated and stored in a growth room under fluorescent light of white, blue, green, yellow and red colour. Quantum irradiance was 30 μmol· m . The colour of light exerted a significant influence on the opening of closed inflorescence buds and on post-harvest longevity of pot chrysanthemums grown earlier in an unheated plastic tunnel. Under florescent lamps emitting blue light at a wavelength of 400-580 nm, inflorescence buds opened and coloured the earliest. The number of developed flower heads was the greatest under blue and white light. Flower heads developing in blue light were bigger than flower heads developing in white and green light. In red light at a wavelength of 600-700 nm, plants flowered latest and they produced the smallest flower heads. Post-harvest longevity was preserved longest in chrysanthemums kept under blue, white and green light. In red and yellow light, the flowers were overblown earliest.

Summary. The objective of the study was to determine the dynamics of the enzymatic activity in a substrate containing a microbiological inoculum (Effective Microorganisms -EM) intended to improve French marigold growth and flowering. The material used in the study was peat substrate of 5.5-6.0 pH into which plants were planted and then inoculated with different doses of the EM biofertilizer (1 : 10, 1 : 50, 1 : 100). Samples of the substrate on which experimental plants were cultivated were collected during the following three phases: the phase of seedling planting, the phase of vegetative growth and the phase of flowering. The scope of investigations comprised determination of the activity of dehydrogenases, urease and acid phosphatase activity by the spectrophotometric method. In addition, the following plant morphological analyses were performed: plant height, shoot number and length, number of buds and inflorescences, and leaf greenness index (SPAD). It was found that the phase of plant development was proved to be the main determinant of the activity of the enzymes under study. The EM biofertilizer had positive * The study was supported by NCN (National Science Centre) grant no. N N305 0361 40.Wolna-Maruwka, A., Mocek-Płóciniak, A., Schroeter-Zakrzewska, A., Niewiadomska, A., Piechota, T., Swędrzyńska, D., Kosicka, D., . The influence of a microbial inoculum on the enzymatic activity of peat and morphological features of the French marigold. Nauka Przyr. Technol., 9, 4, #47. DOI: 10.17306/J. NPT.2015.4.47 2 effect on the acid phosphatase activity. However, the preparation did not have stimulating effect on the activity of urease or dehydrogenases. The EM biofertilizer concentrated at 1 : 100 and applied into the soil and foliage resulted in a larger number of darker leaves and greater number of inflorescences on the plants.

Abstract:The aim of the research was to assess the microbiological (number of heterotrophic bacteria, actinobacteria and moulds) and biochemical (urease and acid phosphatase activity) state of peat with the admixture of composts produced from sewage sludge. An additional aim of the research was to demonstrate the infl uence of those substrates on the morphological traits of scarlet sage (height, number and length of shoots, number of buds and infl orescences, greenness index (SPAD)). Composts produced from sewage sludge, wheat, maize and lupine straw were mixed with peat, where their percentage varied from 25% to 75%.The substrate which included the composts applied in the experiment had a higher number of heterotrophic bacteria and a higher acid phosphatase activity level than the control substrate (peat). The multiplication of moulds and actinobacteria was more intensive than in the peat only in the combinations with K3 (sewage sludge 50%+sawdust 20%+ lupine straw 30%) and K4 (sewage sludge 50%+sawdust 20%+fresh maize straw 30%) composts, whereas the highest urease activity level was observed in the soils produced from K1 (sewage sludge 50%+sawdust 20%+white straw 30%) compost.The most optimal development of plants was observed in the substrate with compost produced from wheat straw. Composts produced from municipal sewage sludge were found to be suitable for growing scarlet sage. However, their effect depends on the percentage of high peat in the substrate.

A closed system for plant production with artificial light is an innovative method of plant cultivation. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of light colour on rooting cuttings and subsequent growth of chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum × grandiflorum Ramat./Kitam.) During the experiments, the following conditions were maintained: photoperiod 16 h or 10 h, temperature 22 °C, relative humidity of 65–70%. LED lamps emitted the following light colours: white, blue, white + blue (50:50), and red + blue (75:25). For all light spectra, the photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) was 50 μmol m−2 s−1. The effectiveness of exposure to different light colours was measured with parameters: cutting weight (g), cutting length (cm), length of roots, and index of leaf greenness (SPAD). The measurements referred to plant features determining plant quality, i.e., the number of flower buds and flower head, the diameter of the flower head, height of plants, index of leaf greenness (SPAD), the number of leaves, and the fresh and dry weights of aboveground parts of plants. The rooting of cuttings and subsequent growth are integral processes in the cultivation of potted chrysanthemums. Both were differently affected by the colour of light from LED lamps. The exposure to red + blue light resulted in the highest leaf greenness index (SPAD) value and the shortest cuttings with the longest roots. White + blue light significantly influenced most of the growth parameters, except the height of the plants and the number of leaves.