Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia, UPM Serdang, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia.
Department of Aquaculture, Faculty of Agriculture, Universiti Putra Malaysia, UPM Serdang, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia.
PLoS One. 2022 Jun 27;17(6):e0270604. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0270604. eCollection 2022.
Mass proliferation and accumulation of the green macroalga Ulva reticulata are problems in coastal areas and affect other ecosystems, such as those involving seagrasses. In the absence of any intervention, the decomposition of these macroalgae over time can disrupt the balance of recipient ecosystems. Attention has been given to the potential use of U. reticulata as a supplier of nutrients for crop species such as tomatoes as a possible solution to the buildup of this unusable seaweed species, which is usually left to decompose in affected seagrass ecosystems; this is the case in the Merambong seagrass meadow in the Sungai Pulai estuary in Gelang Patah, southwestern Johor, Malaysia. We analyzed the macro- and micronutrient contents in U. reticulata to determine nutrient availability. We also performed greenhouse studies to test the effects of crude extracts from dried U. reticulata-Extract "A" and fresh U. reticulata-Extract "B" on plant growth, total yield, and quality vine-ripened fruits. Compared to other seaweed extracts used as plant growth promoters, U. reticulata extracts have higher nitrogen (N), manganese (Mn), zinc (Zn), and iron (Fe) contents. The application of 30% Extracts "A" and "B" and 50% Extracts "A" and "B" significantly affected tomato plant height. However, extract concentrations that promoted plant height and hastened flowering and fruiting did not increase total fruit yields. Both treatments that positively affected tomato plant height and hastened flowering and fruiting resulted in increased contents of total soluble solids (TSS), beta-carotene, lycopene, ascorbic acid and total titratable acidity (TTA) in the vine-ripened fruits. Agronomically, the application of 5% Extracts "A" and "B", 10%-20% Extracts "A" and "B", and 50% Extract "A" doubled the total yield compared to those of the control, and 40% Extract "A" resulted in the highest total fruit yield. In general, tomato plants responded well to Extract "A" than Extract "B" and presented good total fruit yield and quality.
绿藻浒苔的大量繁殖和积累是沿海地区的一个问题，会影响到其他生态系统，如涉及海草的生态系统。如果不进行任何干预，这些海藻随着时间的推移分解会破坏受纳生态系统的平衡。人们一直关注将浒苔作为番茄等作物品种的营养供应来源的潜力，以解决这种通常被留在受影响的海草生态系统中分解的不可用海藻物种的积累问题；这种情况在马来西亚柔佛州西南部 Gelang Patah 的双溪赖河口的 Merambong 海草草地中发生。我们分析了浒苔的宏量和微量营养成分，以确定养分的可用性。我们还进行了温室研究，以测试来自干浒苔提取物-提取物"A"和新鲜浒苔提取物-提取物"B"对植物生长、总产量和优质成熟果实的影响。与用作植物生长促进剂的其他海藻提取物相比，浒苔提取物具有更高的氮（N）、锰（Mn）、锌（Zn）和铁（Fe）含量。30%的提取物"A"和"B"以及 50%的提取物"A"和"B"的应用显著影响了番茄的株高。然而，促进株高和加速开花结果的提取物浓度并没有增加总果实产量。两种处理方法都显著增加了番茄株高，加速了开花结果，提高了成熟果实的总可溶性固形物（TSS）、β-胡萝卜素、番茄红素、抗坏血酸和总可滴定酸度（TTA）的含量。在农业方面，与对照相比，应用 5%的提取物"A"和"B"、10%-20%的提取物"A"和"B"以及 50%的提取物"A"使总产量增加了一倍，而 40%的提取物"A"使总产量达到最高。总的来说，番茄植物对提取物"A"的反应优于提取物"B"，并表现出良好的总果实产量和质量。
