EFFECT OF GROWING MEDIA AND CHEMICAL FERTILIZATION ON GROWTH AND CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF Dracaena marginata "BICOLOR"

Abstract

fertilization at 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4 g/ plant and spraying with trace elements (Fe, Mn and Zn) at 50 and 100 ppm on growth and chemical composition of Dracaena marginata 'Bicolor'. The results showed that growing plants in peatmoss medium gave the highest values of plant height, number of leaves/ plant, fresh and dry weights of leaves/ plant, total carbohydrates, N, K, Fe, Mn and Zn percent in leaves. Whereas peat + sand medium gave the highest values of stem diameter, leaf area and P contents in leaves in both two seasons. NPK at 1 and 2 g and NPK fertilizers plus trace elements increased plant height, stem diameter, number of leaves/plant, leaf area, fresh and dry weights of leaves/ plant compared with control in the first and second seasons. Also, all chemical fertilization treatments increased total carbohydrates, N, P, K, Fe, Mn and Zn percent in leaves as compared with control plants in the first and second seasons. Using peatmoss or peatmoss + sand medium combined with NPK at 1 g/ plant alone or NPK at 1 g plus trace elements gave the highest values of most characters.