Applying wood ash and soil moisture on gladiolus (Gladiolus grandiflorus) cultivation

Abstract

The management of fertilization using burnt residue from plant material associated with the management of irrigation, has demonstrated the possibility of a sustainable strategy to increase production of ornamental plants cultivated in greenhouses. The objective of this study was to evaluate the development of gladiolus plants cultivated in the Cerrado Rhodic Hapludox and subjected to doses of wood ash and volumetric soil moistures. The experiment was conducted under controlled conditions, from April to June 2014. The experimental design was arranged in randomized blocks, in a 5×5 factorial scheme, totaling 25 treatments, with four replications. Treatments were composed of five doses of wood ash (0, 8, 16, 24, and 32 g dm -3 ), and five volumetric soil moistures (7, 14, 21, 28, and 35%). Evaluated variables were: pH and soil water retention capacity; length of flower spikes and flower stems; flower numbers; and days from plant emergence to flowering. Results were analyzed using the response surface methodology with SAS software. The best results for length of flower spikes and flower stems depend on the combination of appropriate doses of wood ash and soil moisture levels. Number of flowers and days from plant emergence to flowering was separately influenced by either doses of wood ash or soil moisture, which ranged from 8 to 12 g dm -3 wood ash, and 33 to 35% soil moisture. The ash may be used as both soil corrective and fertilizer for greenhouse gladiolus production, besides improving soil water retention capacity. The ideal volumetric soil moisture for flower production is 33%.

Combined used of Dry Cocoa Bean Test Ash (Theobroma cacao L.) and Poultry Dropping for the Improvement of Soil Fertility and Maize (Zea mays L.) Growth and Yield on a Humid Alfisol Southwestern, Nigeria

“…The significantly higher values of maize length and diameter in the cocoa bean testa ash (CBTA) and poultry dropping (PD) treated plots over that of the control plot may be due to the concentration of essential minerals, OC and N in the manure used which might responsible for the high yield of maize length and diameter. This finding is in agreement with the that of Marcel et al 2016 [30], they were of the opinion that there was a significant interaction among doses of wood ash and soil moisture for length of flower spikes and of flower stems at harvest. The higher values of maize length and diameter obtained from CBTA and CBTA+PD plots might be due to the concentration of K in CBTA.…”

“…The higher pH values of 6.04 and 6.12 in cocoa bean testa ash (CBTA) and cocoa bean testa ash plus poultry dropping (CBTA+PD) mixture plots might due to the liming effects of CBTA due to high concentration of potassium (K) nutrient Adeoye et al 2001 [13]. Marcel et al 2016 [30] submitted that the pH increases can be attributed mainly to the release of K carbonate by reaction of ash in the soil. Also, Demeyer et al 2001 [37] and Lickaaz 2002 [38] had described wood ash to be similar to burned or hydrated lime as it contained oxides and hydroxides of K, Na, Ca and Mg.…”

Spatio-temporal variability of Gladiolus imbricatus L. populations in different plant communities near Kraków

“…The significant augmentation of dimensions of generative shoots might be result of growing ground moisture. The positive relationship among soil humidity and number and dimensions of shoots, flowers and inflorescences was observed in Gladiolus grandiflorus (Porto et al 2014;Pereira et al 2016aPereira et al , 2016b. The reducing flowering of Gladiolus individuals in effect of decrease of soil moisture was also observed by Shillo and Halevy (1976).…”

Wood ash and water availability in the production of Paiaguás-grass

“…It was observed, in the second cut, that the largest production of leaves occurred even in conditions of low water availability; this can be attributed to the application of wood ash to the soil, since it increases soil water retention (Chang et al, 1977;Stoof et al, 2010;Pereira et al, 2016). Thus, the importance of using wood ash to increase leaf production and for soil water conservation in dry periods was emphasized, since it still provides nutrients for pastures.…”

“…Thus, pasture irrigation is a strategy to maintain forage availability in dry periods or to intensify production (Robins, 2016;Mazahrih et al, 2016;Peacock et al, 2003). Wood ash incorporated into the soil, in addition to providing nutrients, increases soil water-retention capacity (Pathan et al, 2003;Ramesh et al, 2008;Stoof et al, 2010;Pereira et al, 2016) and may decrease the amount of water used in irrigated pastures or even obviate the need for irrigation, especially in adapted cultivars.…”