EFFECT OF FOLIAR SPRAY WITH SOME COMMERCIAL STIMULANTS ON GROWTH, YIELD AND ITS QUALITY OF POTATO PLANTS UNDER DIFFERENT HYDROPONIC GROWING SYSTEMS

Abstract

Investigations were carried out during the two autumn successive seasons of 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 in a greenhouse with anti-aphid nylon screen belonging to the Faculty of Agriculture Farm, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt to evaluate the effect of foliar spray with some commercial stimulants and various farming systems (Bucket and Column culture farming systems on potato plants, the plants were grown in plastic pots and columns in plastic gallons with a growing medium such as peat moss: perlite (1:1v/v) used for hydroponic system and aeroponic box farming system) compared with soil conventional farming system to study their effect on the vegetative growth, chemical composition and yield characteristics as well as tuber quality of potato cv. Spunta. The statistical design were arranged as a factorial experiment in randomized complete blocks designed with three replication. The obtained results could be summarized as follow: 1.Vegetative growth parameters a. Plant height The highest plant length was recorded when the conventional soil and/or hydroponic method was applied combined with treated potato plants with the Beet stimulant. Also, a higher value of plant height was noticed when the conventional soil was applied accompanied with the treated potato plants with other stimulant, i.e. Calfruit. The difference between this interaction (growing systems and commercial stimulants) was insignificant. On contrary, the lowest plant height was obtained in case of the treated plants with Calfruit stimulant and grown by an aeroponic box method. Generally, all the noticed values of the plant height were higher than that in the untreated plants.