REACTION OF SOME VEGETABLE CROPS TO TREATMENTS WITH LACTATE AS BIOREGULATOR AND FERTILIZER

Experiments were made under protected conditions with soilless culture and in soil. Lactates (lactic acid salts, as special product under the brand name LACTOFOL®) turned out to be a stable form of chelates and therefore they were used in all experiments. Experiments were laid out for investigating of the effects of LACTOFOL® on the growth of French beans and cucumber. Model experiments were carried out with tomato for investigating the effects of pH on the growth of young plants both in substrate and in recirculating nutrient solution. Tomato plants were cultured in pots mostly to the 11–/12-leaf stage. In the yield experiment tomato plants were cultivated in substrate-culture and continued until they had five inflorescences.

The following general conclusions can be drawn from the test results:

• Treatment with lactic acid increased the net-leaf-area of cucumber and bean plants;
• Lactic acid were showed characteristic effects on plant growth as well as on the quantity and quality of crop yield
• Treated with LACTOFOL®) plants had better results in terms of plastid pigment content and net assimilation rate (NAR)
• The plants showed better tolerance of optimal growth conditions (temperature, pH, EC, diseases)

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