The effects of ploy (γ-glutamic acid) on spinach productivity and nitrogen use efficiency in North-West China

• Published in: Plant, soil and environment soil and environment, 2018-01, Vol.64 (11), p.517-522
• Main Authors: CHEN, Lin, FEI, Liangjun, WANG, Zilu, SALAHOU, Mohamed Khaled, LIU, Le, ZHONG, Yun, DAI, Zhiguang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Agricultural land; Agricultural practices; Agrochemicals; Coagulation; Efficiency; Fertilizers; Glutamic acid; Growth regulators; n fertilization; Nitrogen; Plant growth; Porosity; soil amelioration; Soil improvement; Soil porosity; Soil structure; soil water-stability of aggregates; Soils; Spinach; spinach n uptake; spinach yield; Vegetables; Water conservation
• ISSN: 1214-1178; 1805-9368
• DOI: 10.17221/371/2018-PSE

Recently, with the problem of low utilization rate of nitrogen fertilizers in farmland, agriculture practices have shifted towards the development of environmentally friendly nitrogen fertilizers. Ploy (γ-glutamic acid) is a new plant growth regulator with characteristics of water and fertilizer conservation. In this study, pot experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of ploy (γ-PGA) on the yield, nitrogen use efficiency and soil aggregate of spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.). The results indicated that γ-PGA (0.1%) increased plant growth (as measured by fresh and dry plant weight). However, increasing γ-PGA significantly decreased spinach quality parameters. The nitrogen utilization and use efficiency were increased with increasing γ-PGA. Ploy was stronger in water coagulation which effectively increased soil porosity and improved soil structure. The results suggest that 0.1% of γ-PGA has positive effects on spinach growth.