Evaluating the Fertilising Potential of Blended Recovered Nutrients in Horticultural Growing Medium on Viola x wittrockiana L.

Viola x wittrockiana L. is an ornamental plant in high demand in horticulture. It is becoming more critical for greenhouse growers to focus on sustainable production to enhance plant quality while reducing negative environmental impacts. Therefore, assessing the effect of recycled phosphorous (P) and nitrogen (N) sources on the growth of viola could become very useful for producers in terms of sustainability. This experiment analysed the optimal fertiliser composition to grow viola using recovered fertilisers in a greenhouse trial under controlled conditions. Well-rooted viola plugs were grown in a standard peat-based growing medium. Using recycled sources of P and N as struvite and potassium struvite, ammonium sulphate, and ammonium nitrate, 14 fertiliser blends were prepared, tested, and compared with the slow-release commercial fertiliser Osmocote. Plants treated with ammonium nitrate showed healthy growth and optimal plant N concentrations. In contrast, most blends using the recovered ammonium sulphate resulted in an unacceptable increase of ammonium concentrations in the growing medium. The combination of ammonium sulphate and potassium sulphate caused an increase in the electrical conductivity in the growing medium, negatively affecting plant growth. However, blend 13 containing struvite, ammonium sulphate and potassium struvite expressed the best chemical composition with non-significant differences in the biomass from the positive controls, as it reduced the amount of potassium sulphate needed. Our results indicate that fertiliser blends containing P as struvite, N as ammonium nitrate or reduced amount of ammonium sulphate, and K as potassium struvite can substitute the use of mineral fertiliser blends to grow ornamental plant species as viola.

Molecular Characterization and Transmission Study of the Begomovirus on Hollyhock Plant Causing Leaf Curl Disease for the First Time in Province Punjab, Pakistan

I. Background: Hollyhock (Alcea rosea) is an ornamental plant belonging to the Malvaceae family and has a remarkable aesthetic and medicinal value. Previously in Pakistan, the hollyhock plant was not found to be infected by begomovirus and the plant first time showed the symptoms of typical leaf curling, puckering as well as thickened veins. II. Methods and Results: During the year 2018, symptomatic samples of the hollyhock plants were collected that exhibited characteristic typical leaf curling, puckering as well as thickened veins. DNA was extracted from the samples and the PCR technique was optimized for the detection of begomovirus followed by sequencing. The samples were detected to be infected with begomovirus by using Av/Ac core, Begomo 01/02, and CLCV 01/02 primer showed positive results with 579bp, 2.8kb, and 1.1kb nucleotide respectively. The betasatellite was amplified by using beta01/02 and CLCuMuBF11/R33 showed positive results with 1400bp and 481bp respectively. Sequencing results showed that diseased hollyhock plants were associated with Cotton leaf curl Multan virus-Rajasthan strain along with Cotton leaf curl Multan betasatellite. III. Conclusion: Hollyhock plants infected by begomovirus has been reported for the first time as a possible source of virus inoculum from Pakistan.

Ascodesmis rosicola sp. nov. and Talaromyces rosarhiza sp. nov., two endophytes from Rosa roxburghii in China

Rosa roxburghii Tratt., a deciduous shrub of the family Rosaceae, is usually used as food and medicinal materials and also cultivated as an ornamental. Plant endophytic fungi are a large class of microbial resources not fully researched, with great potential applications. Two strains of Ascodesmis and Talaromyces were isolated during a survey of biodiversity on endophytic fungi of R. roxburghii in China. Multigene phylogenetic analyses showed that each of the two fungi formed a distinct lineage and separated from known congeneric species and they are proposed as two novel taxa. Ascodesmis rosicola sp. nov. usually has one or two conspicuous simple or branched ridges extending to the majority of the ascospore surface and remarkably small asci, distinguishing it from the previously-described species in the genus Ascodesmis. Talaromyces rosarhiza sp. nov., of the section Talaromyces, is closely related to T. francoae. It differs from the latter by having both monoverticillate and biverticillate conidiophores, while those of T. francoae are biverticillate. Both novel endophytes are illustrated and described.

Teknologi Internet Of Things (IoT) dalam Penyemprotan Insektisida Aglonema pada Greenhouse

Aglonema is a plant that is widely cultivated by ornamental plant lovers, because it has various species with varied and beautiful leaf patterns. Aglonema cultivation can be a business opportunity in agriculture because aglonema plants are in great demand but also because the prices offered vary from hundreds of thousands to millions of rupiah. Aglonema plant care is quite easy and simple. However, the wrong aglonema plant care such as irregular watering, excessive fertilizer application, and the wrong plant placement can make plants grow less optimally or even die. Greenhouse is a building that was formed to avoid and treat plants against various kinds of weather. Weather is the state of the atmosphere in a place at a certain time related to air temperature, sunlight, wind, rain and other air conditions. Thus, the types of plants that are not in accordance with the local climate, such as ornamental plants, vegetables and fruit, which have high economic value but are difficult to cultivate in outdoor areas, can be cultivated through climate control in the greenhouse. Various benefits such as controlling air temperature, adjusting humidity levels, to the interval between watering times can be adjusted easily. Internet of things (IoT) is a concept or program where an object has the ability to transmit or transmit data over a network without using the help of computer and human devices. With this IoT, spraying insecticides at the Greehouse for aglonema plants can be done automatically

Primulina scutellifolia, a new species of Gesneriaceae from southern Vietnam

Primulina scutellifolia is described as a new species from Khanh Hoa Province, southern Central Vietnam. It is distinct in the genus in having scutellate leaves that make it a highly potential ornamental plant. The new species looks like P. annamensis in general shapes, sizes and colours of habit, inflorescence, flower, and leaf but is distinguishable by adaxially glabrous and abaxially strigose leaves with serrate margins, scutellate leaf blade and appressed downwards tomentose petiole, sparsely glandular hairs on apical 1/2 of the gynoecium and trapeziform one-lipped stigma with slightly emarginated apex.

Sustainability analysis of ornamental plants farming in Makassar

This study aims to analyze the sustainability index of each dimension of ecology, economy, social, and technology as well as identify sensitive attributes that determine the sustainability of ornamental plant farming in Makassar. The rapid appraisal for program modified from rapid appraisal for fisheries program using the multidimensional scaling (MDS) method was used as the analytical instrument. MDS ordination analysis results showed the sustainability index value of each dimension, namely ecology (37.30), economic (40.90), social (31.74), and technology (34.33) were categorized as less sustainable with an average index value of all dimensions was 36.07. The leverage analysis visualizes that 9 out of 17 attributes has shown to be sensitive attributes that affect the business sustainability of ornamental plant in Makassar, namely frequency of crop waste management, water sources, utilization of plant waste, market scale, profitability, business land status, company registration certificate, use of modern technology, and frequency of environmentally friendly technology usage. Government should provide special business zones for ornamental plant so that all ornamental plant farmer in Makassar can be grouped into one zone. Furthermore, it can increase gross regional domestic product, employment opportunities, and opening up opportunities of other industrial sectors growth.

Phenology and morphological flower of Prunus cerasoides Buch.-Ham. ex D. Don

Prunus cerasoides Buch.-Ham. ex D. Don, known as Himalayan cherry, is an ornamental plant that collected in Cibodas Botanical Garden. Moreover, the environment might be affecting the flowering period and morphological of P. cerasoides. This study was conducted in Cibodas Botanical Garden. It was aimed to evaluate the trend of the flowering period of P. cerasoides in Cibodas Botanical Garden during 20 years (2001-2020). The observation occurred five times, i.e. in 2001, 2004, 2010, 2015, and 2020. The results showed that P. cerasoides was able to flower two times in a year, but the period were not always the same every year. Generally, the flowering times of P. cerasoides in the first period was in January-February on 2001, 2004, 2010, and 2015, but in the second period, P. cerasoides experienced different flowering periods which is August 2001, June-August 2004, August-October 2010, and July-October 2015 with very rare/little (1%-30%) to rare/moderate (31%-60%) of flowers. In 2020, there was a significant shifting of the flowering period that P. cerasoides was flowering from March to June and the second period of flowering in October. The fruit only occurred in 2010 and 2015 with very rare/little fruit intensity (1%-30%) to rare/moderate (31%-60%).