GROWTH AND PRODUCTIVITY OF EGGPLANT AS AFFECTED BY PINK PIGMENTED FACULTATIVE METHYLOTROPHIC BACTERIA

Abstract

Field experiments were carried out during the summer seasons of 2014 and 2015 at the Experimental Farm, Faculty of Agriculture, Ain Shams University, to study the effect of applying pink pigmented facultative methylotrophic bacteria (PPFM) by dipping and foliar spray on vegetative growth and yield of eggplant (Solanum melongena L.). The vegetative growth of eggplant responded positively to dipping seedlings in PPFM which gave the highest values of growth parameters, i.e. number of leaves per plant, leaf area, nitrogen & potassium concentration in leaf and total protein in fruit, in the two seasons as compared with control (dipping in water). The application of PPFM as foliar spray, increased significantly plant growth (plant length, leaf number, potassium concentration in leaf, vitamin "C" in fruit and total yield per plant) in the two seasons as compared with the other studied foliar application treatments. The interaction between dipping seedlings in PPFM and PPFM foliar spray at all concentrations gave synergistic effects on growth parameters and yield components of eggplant, during the two growing seasons as compared with either individual foliar application or control plants.